American state of Texas bans DeepSeek and other Chinese apps

As DeepSeek continues to exert dominance in the global artificial intelligence space, Texas has become the latest government to ban the Chinese open-source AI model. The ban will prevent state employees from downloading, installing, or using Deepseek or several other notable Chinese apps on government-sanctioned devices.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who raised data privacy and national security concerns in a proclamation on the Texas state website, prohibited state workers from interacting with Chinese AI and social media apps, including DeepSeek, RedNote, and Lemon8, on state-owned devices. 

“Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps. Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors,” Governor Abbott said.

The ban includes Chinese stock-trading platforms like Moomoo, Tiger Brokers, and Webull.

Texas was also ahead of the game in banning TikTok on state-sanctioned devices in 2022. Since then about thirty states put similar TikTok bans in place for government workers, ahead of the federal ban in mid-January, which saw millions of U.S. users take to the Chinese app, RedNote. 

The recent launch of DeepSeek, an open-source AI model by a Chinese startup has intensified pressures and threats in the tech industry over the past two weeks.

It became the talk of the tech world when it released its R1 model. Its R1’s functionality and accuracy compared to its U.S. counterparts seems like a win for the overall AI industry, despite using fewer resources and less computing power.

The AI chatbot made waves as it surged to the top of global app download charts during that period.

Also Read: Alibaba releases updated AI model that “surpasses DeepSeek”

DeepSeek ban amidst perceived threats 

Within its recent wave in artificial intelligence, DeepSeek has been riddled with dangers. 

The initial enthusiasm that greeted it has now been replaced with suspicions of data leakage, fraud, and other information security concerns. The app has been downloaded at least 16 million times worldwide, making it the most downloaded app in 140 countries. 

The AI tool has also become a top competitor for similar brands in the West as the app’s legality and data collection protocol have been questioned.

The biggest worry reportedly is potential data leakage to the Chinese government. According to DeepSeek’s privacy policy, the company stores all user data in China, where local laws mandate organizations to share data with intelligence officials upon request. TikTok, a Chinese ByteDance subsidiary, faces the same security concern across several countries.

Like the American State of Texas, which is the first state to ban the open-source AI chatbot in the U.S., the U.S. Navy, Congress, the Pentagon, the Finance Ministry, and NASA have also banned the use of the AI app, all similarly citing privacy and security concerns.

The U.S. Congress House’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), which provides support services and business solutions to the House of Representatives, sent a notice to congressional offices indicating that DeepSeek’s technology is “under review,” Axios reported.

“Threat actors are already exploiting DeepSeek to deliver malicious software and infect devices. To mitigate these risks, the House has taken security measures to restrict DeepSeek’s functionality on all House-issued devices,” the notice said.

Several countries have sprung to action with bans on the AI tool. 

Italy became one of the first countries to place a ban following an investigation by the country’s privacy watchdog into DeepSeek’s handling of personal data.

Around late January, Italy’s Data Protection Authority (DPA) launched an investigation into DeepSeek’s data collection practices and compliance with the GDPR, the EU law that governs how personal data is retained and processed in EU territories. The DPA gave DeepSeek 20 days to respond to questions about how and where the company stores user data and what it uses this data for.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs said that DeepSeek “endangers national information security” and has banned government agencies from using the company’s AI. “DeepSeek AI service is a Chinese product. Its operation involves [several] information security concerns,” the Ministry said.

The Taiwan ministry said in a statement that public sector workers and critical infrastructure facilities run the risk of “cross-border transmission and information leakage” by using DeepSeek’s technology. The Taiwanese government’s ban applies to employees of government agencies as well as public schools and state-owned enterprises.

Australia has also restricted the app from being used. Some other countries are currently weighing the risks of keeping DeepSeek legal for use, including the UK, Ireland, some EU members, and South Korea.