Trump administration reportedly eyeing DeepSeek ban on US government devices
The Trump administration is reportedly “likely” to ban Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek from US government devices due to national security concerns.
As The Post reported, cybersecurity experts have warned that DeepSeek could pose an even greater threat to national security and the data privacy of American users than TikTok.
DeepSeek’s own terms of service reveal that it collects vast troves of user data ranging from IP addresses to keystrokes and then stores the information on servers in China — where they are subject to government laws requiring the startup to share data with investigators upon request.
US officials are specifically worried about that dynamic, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
They also believe that DeepSeek hasn’t fully explained how it uses the data it collects and who is able to access the sensitive information.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Aside from weighing a ban for DeepSeek downloads on government devices, officials are mulling potentially barring the AI chatbot from US-based app stores run by the likes of Apple and Google or restricting US cloud computing firms from supporting access to the service for their customers, the Journal reported.
The sources reportedly said discussions on those two alternative paths are still in their early stages.