In a new push to safeguard national security, two US lawmakers are set to introduce a bipartisan bill aimed at banning China’s DeepSeek AI chatbot from government-issued devices. The initiative follows warnings from cybersecurity experts who claim that DeepSeek not only threatens American artificial intelligence investments but also poses a serious security risk. The chatbot has surged in popularity, becoming the most downloaded app in the United States in recent weeks.
Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Darin LaHood (R-IL), both senior members of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, are behind the proposed legislation titled the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act.” Their proposal echoes the US government’s 2022 decision to prohibit TikTok from government devices—a move that eventually escalated into a broader effort to ban the app nationwide.
Concerns about DeepSeek’s security implications stem from an independent investigation conducted by cybersecurity firm Feroot Security. Their research alleges that the chatbot’s code is designed to transmit user data directly to China Mobile, a state-owned telecommunications giant controlled by the Chinese government.
“We have identified direct connections between DeepSeek’s infrastructure and Chinese government-controlled entities,” said Ivan Tsarynny, a Feroot analyst, in an interview with ABC News. “This is an unprecedented level of data access.”
According to Tsarynny, the chatbot collects and transmits vast amounts of personal data from American users. “There’s no debate about it—our data is being sent to China,” he told the Wall Street Journal. ABC News further confirmed that multiple independent cybersecurity experts have verified Feroot’s findings.
Amid growing concerns, the US Navy and NASA have already implemented internal bans on DeepSeek, preventing their employees from using the app on work devices. Texas remains the only state to have taken similar action at the state level. Meanwhile, international governments have been quicker to act—Italy, South Korea, and Australia have already enforced bans on the application.
Representative Darin LaHood has been vocal about the risks posed by the app, highlighting the potential for misuse of collected data.
“The DeepSeek chatbot—developed by a company with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party—represents a critical threat to US national security,” LaHood stated in a press release. “The AI system gathers user data and stores it for purposes unknown to us. We cannot afford to let a CCP-linked entity gain access to sensitive governmental or personal information.”
Gottheimer echoed these sentiments, stressing the importance of preventing foreign interference in US government operations.
“We need to fully investigate DeepSeek’s operations,” he said. “Allowing the CCP access to our government officials’ devices is a risk we simply cannot take.”
As cybersecurity concerns continue to escalate, the proposed legislation could mark a significant step in the US government’s broader efforts to counter potential foreign threats in the AI landscape.
