By FOCUS, a Leonine Business
In an AI landscape evolving at breakneck speed, it’s increasingly difficult to surprise, but the release of China’s DeepSeek R-1 foundational model on January 20 sent shockwaves through the financial markets and American holders of AI models. This follows the heightened security concerns over TikTok, which led to a national ban by the U.S. federal government, a decision that was later paused under the current administration. Similarly, on February 7, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced HR 1121, which seeks to ban DeepSeek on devices used by agency employees – though it stops short of implementing a nationwide ban like that of TikTok.
With growing global concerns surrounding DeepSeek’s open-source model and potential data privacy risks, the AI model is facing increasing scrutiny at the state level in the U.S. States like Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has banned all Chinese-related apps on government-issued devices – including DeepSeek, TikTok and RedNote – are leading the charge. Recently, Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed Executive Order 46, while New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul took executive action to block DeepSeek from government devices and networks, citing concerns over foreign government surveillance. On February 19, Iowa became the fourth state to ban DeepSeek when Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds issued an executive order prohibiting Chinese apps like RedNote and Lemon8.
At the legislative level, Kansas’ HB 2313, which would prohibit employees from accessing “AI platforms of concern” (including DeepSeek) on state-issued devices and networks, passed the House Legislative Modernization Committee on February 18. As concerns over data privacy and foreign surveillance intensify, the growing state-level actions against DeepSeek highlight the mounting pressure on Chinese technology in the U.S. This evolving landscape signals that, while the battle over AI’s future is still in its early stages, it is already shaping up to be a key point of contention in both domestic and international policy. FOCUS will continue to monitor the developments on DeepSeek and other related legislation at both the state and federal levels.