The White House is meditating on the idea of imposing potential restrictions on the Chinese artificial intelligence disruptor DeepSeek, including barring its chatbot from government devices. You can guess the alleged reasons – “national security concerns”, just like for the possible TikTok ban.
Reportedly, US officials have raised alarms about how DeepSeek handles user data, pointing to the company’s practice of storing information on servers in China. There are also concerns over the lack of transparency regarding how the data is used and who has access to it. These issues have led the Trump administration to consider a rule that would prohibit the installation of DeepSeek’s chatbot on government-issued devices.Beyond restricting its use within federal agencies, officials are exploring broader measures, including removing DeepSeek from US app stores and limiting access to its AI models through US-based cloud service providers. However, discussions on these additional steps remain in early stages. My guess is that DeepSeek might be banned on government devices first.
As you’ve may heard, DeepSeek made headlines in January when it unveiled a powerful AI model developed at a fraction of the cost of similar technology from US competitors. For a brief period in January, its chatbot became the world’s most downloaded app before dropping to seventh place in February, according to analytics firms’ data. As we’ve reported, it was the No.1 app in the US App Store.
Then, several countries restricted the use of DeepSeek over privacy and security concerns. The company voluntarily withdrew its app from Italian app stores, while South Korea halted new downloads due to unresolved regulatory issues. Government agencies in Australia, Canada, and Taiwan have also prohibited the use of DeepSeek on official devices.
While there is no nationwide ban on DeepSeek in the US, some government entities, including NASA and the Navy, have independently blocked its use. State governments in New York and Texas have also implemented measures to limit its reach.
Trying to lock DeepSeek out of government devices is one thing, but keeping it away from the general public? That’s a whole different ballgame.
For starters, DeepSeek’s AI models are open-source, meaning anyone can grab them, tweak them, and run them however they like. On top of that, plenty of US cloud providers have already baked DeepSeek’s tech into their services, so cutting off access won’t fly, and it could spark serious pushback from businesses and investors.
