Bipartisan Bill Proposes DeepSeek Ban on Federal Devices

Bipartisan lawmakers in the US House on Thursday introduced a bill to ban the Chinese AI app DeepSeek from federal devices over national security concerns, similar to existing TikTok restrictions. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Darin LaHood's (R-Ill.) "No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act" intends to address concerns about the app's potential for surveillance and misinformation. The bill names DeepSeek and any AI application parent company High-Flyer might develop; the only exception would be for those federal employees engaged in national security and research on DeepSeek. The move aligns with ongoing US-China tech tension and follows the 2023 federal ban on TikTok.

Gottheimer said: "The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans." LaHood added: "The technology race with the Chinese Communist Party is not one the United States can afford to lose. This commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation will ban the app from federal workers' phones while closing backdoor operations the company seeks to exploit for access." (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)