South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, along with representatives from 21 states, has called on Congress to enact the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act” (H.R. 1121). This proposed legislation aims to ban the use of AI software developed by the Chinese Communist Party’s DeepSeek on government devices, citing national security concerns.
Experts in cybersecurity have expressed concerns about DeepSeek’s ability to collect sensitive data such as chat histories, keystroke patterns, and search queries. The information gathered could potentially be sent directly to the Chinese government, raising fears of espionage.
“China is one of the greatest threats to our national security, and we cannot afford to allow its tools of espionage to infiltrate our government systems,” stated Attorney General Wilson. He further warned that “DeepSeek has the capability to harvest sensitive data from government devices, putting our nation’s security and the personal information of public servants at risk. We must act now to close this vulnerability before it is too late.”
Countries like Canada, Australia, South Korea, and Italy have already restricted DeepSeek on government devices due to similar security issues. The United States is urged to take comparable measures to protect its confidential information.
The initiative mirrors a 2022 legislative effort that prohibited TikTok on government devices. Bipartisan support for this bill underscores the critical need to address potential threats posed by Chinese technology in terms of U.S. national security.
Montana spearheaded the letter urging action against DeepSeek. The coalition includes South Carolina and states such as Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
