Sen. Cotton: Ban DeepSeek From Government Devices

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has asked the Trump administration to "immediately prohibit" federal departments and agencies from using DeepSeek, the new artificial intelligence chatbot produced by China, warning that it would "almost certainly" provide the Chinese Communist Party with U.S. data and intel.

In a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought on Thursday, Cotton wrote that the country's policies are at stake.

"Federal employees are tasked with researching, developing, and implementing policies critical to America's economic and national security. Allowing those employees to use of PRC [People's Republic of China] origin artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning tools on government devices will almost certainly provide the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with U.S. government data as well as advance information on our nation's policies," he wrote.

Cotton's letter follows legislation introduced earlier this month by Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act would ban federal employees from using the Chinese AI app on government-owned electronics.

Also, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott banned state officials from using it and other Chinese technology on government devices. New York did so, too.

Cotton noted that India and South Korea have banned the use of DeepSeek for government purposes.

However, President Donald Trump this month told reporters that DeepSeek doesn't pose a national security threat and the U.S. ultimately could "benefit" from the startup's AI innovation.

Cotton, though, reminded Vought that China's "National Security and Data Laws compel PRC companies to provide any and all data to the CCP's intelligence agencies."

"This would, of course, include any information entered into the DeepSeek application or other AI tools," Cotton wrote.

"Additionally, DeepSeek's developers did not take steps to adequately secure their own databases or implement safety guardrails. A cloud security firm quickly discovered a massive vulnerability in DeepSeek that left data publicly accessible, including users' chat histories and other sensitive information," he added.

• Texas AG Launches Probe Into China's DeepSeek
• New York State Bans DeepSeek From Govt Devices