Texas AG Launches Probe Into China's DeepSeek

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced an investigation into Chinese technology company DeepSeek over security concerns about the startup's privacy practices with its artificial intelligence platform.

Paxton's top concern is DeepSeek's ties to the Chinese Communist Party, which requires the country's corporations to share data if requested.

In addition to notifying DeepSeek that its platform violates the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, Paxton asked Google and Apple for documents concerning DeepSeek's chatbot application.

"DeepSeek appears to be no more than a proxy for the CCP to undermine American AI dominance and steal the data of our citizens," Paxton said in a statement Friday. "That's why I'm announcing a thorough investigation and calling on Google and Apple to cooperate immediately by providing all relevant documents related to the DeepSeek app.

"The United States and Texas will continue to be at the forefront of global AI innovation, and any CCP-aligned company that tries to undermine that dominance by violating the rights of Texans and illegally undercutting American technology companies will face the full force of the law."

DeepSeek last month unveiled a new AI chatbot that offered a comparable performance to the world's best software at seemingly a fraction of the cost.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott banned state officials from using it and other Chinese technology on government devices. Virginia and New York have followed suit with similar bans, The Hill reported.

Despite the move by Texas, President Donald Trump this month told reporters that China's DeepSeek doesn't pose a national security threat and the U.S. ultimately could "benefit" from the startup's artificial intelligence innovation.

Still, a bipartisan duo in the the U.S. House is proposing legislation to ban DeepSeek's AI app from federal devices, similar to the policy already in place for the popular social media platform TikTok.

Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., introduced the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act, which would ban federal employees from using the Chinese AI app on government-owned electronics. They cited the Chinese government's ability to use the app for surveillance and misinformation as reasons to keep it away from federal networks.

Upon its debut, DeepSeek's chatbot caused major U.S. technology stocks to lose a colossal $1 trillion market cap on Jan. 27 amid fears of disruption from the advanced AI.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.