US lawmakers move to ban DeepSeek AI tool | Computer Weekly
Summary
US lawmakers in Washington DC have this week moved to enact a national ban on the use of DeepSeek, the breakout Chinese generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tool that sprang to prominence and wiped billions off the value of US tech companies at the end of January. The No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation introduced by Democratic congressman Josh Gottheimer and his Republican counterpart, Darin LaHood, who represent districts in the states of New Jersey and Illinois respectively. Similar to the controversial TikTok ban – currently on hold for 75 days following an executive order signed by President Trump, the US’s attempts to restrict the use of DeepSeek reflect the Western bloc’s long-held concerns over the ability of the Chinese government to co-opt any user data at will from technology organisations. This common-sense, bipartisan piece of legislation will ban the app from federal workers’ phones while closing backdoor operations the company seeks to exploit for access. “The unfolding DeepSeek incident shall not be exploited as a ‘convenient’ reason to suddenly forget about serious violations and AI-related risks posed by other GenAI vendors,” said Kolochenko.