Chinese artificial intelligence model DeepSeek has garnered similar privacy and security concerns as the Chinese social media app TikTok, and Congress may act similarly with the new technology.
The two leaders of the National Security Agency and Cyber Subcommittee of the House Intelligence Committee are set to announce a bill that would ban the app from government devices, an action Congress took with TikTok in December 2022. Subcommittee Chairman Darin LaHood (R-IL) and ranking member Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) will bring the bill forward on Thursday, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
“This should be a no-brainer in terms of actions we should take immediately to prevent our enemy from getting information from our government,” Gottheimer said in a statement.
DeepSeek emerged in January, surprising many in the technology industry with its capabilities, which reportedly comes close to rivals, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but at a far lower cost. Experts have also raised concerns about the deception that may be embedded in the app as its effect on the industry is assessed.
Congressional offices have already been warned by the House chief administrative officer that they should avoid using the AI app, warning that “threat actors are already exploiting DeepSeek to deliver malicious software and infect devices,” according to a report from Axios.
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The Chinese AI app’s arrival into the market comes as TikTok faces a ban if its Chinese owners do not sell the social media platform by April 5. The original deadline, as outlined by legislation passed by Congress in 2024, was Jan. 19, but the outgoing Biden administration declined to enforce the ban, and the Trump administration gave the app’s owners a 75-day extension.
DeepSeek is the latest app to enter the increasingly evolving AI market. As the field continues to change rapidly, President Donald Trump announced an effort to build an artificial intelligence infrastructure for the country, under the Stargate project.