Nandini Roy Choudhury, writer
Synopsis
- A bipartisan bill aims to ban China’s DeepSeek AI software on U.S. government devices due to national security concerns over potential espionage.
- Representatives LaHood and Gottheimer emphasize the risks of sensitive data being accessed by the Chinese Communist Party.
- DeepSeek, established in 2023, has faced scrutiny for allegedly hiding code that could transmit user data to China Mobile.
Detailed
A bipartisan bill is being proposed in Congress to prohibit the use of China’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence software on government devices.
Darin LaHood, a Republican representative from Illinois, and Josh Gottheimer, a Democratic representative from New Jersey, are introducing the measure on the basis of national security, claiming that the company’s technology poses a risk of espionage.
LaHood stated, “The United States cannot afford to lose the technology race with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).” “It is concerning that DeepSeek, a company that is connected to the Chinese Communist Party, is a threat to the national security of the United States.”
He said that DeepSeek’s generative AI algorithm is capable of collecting data from users in the United States and storing that information for undisclosed purposes by the Chinese government.
According to an analysis by Ivan Tsarynny, the CEO of Feroot Security, which specializes in data protection and cybersecurity, the chatbot app has intentionally hidden code that could send user login information to China Mobile. China Mobile is a state-owned telecommunications company that has been banned from operating in the U.S. The Associated Press reported his analysis sooner.
Gottheimer stated, “We cannot allow a CCP company to obtain sensitive government or personal data under any circumstances.”
DeepSeek was not available for comment from a spokesperson. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the measure, stating that DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment.
DeepSeek was established in 2023, and it gained widespread attention in the United States at the end of last month. This was due to reports that the company was able to create better outcomes using artificial intelligence at a far lower cost than what American technology companies have been able to do so far. Last week, those fears produced a temporary drop in the value of U.S. technology equities.
There is still disagreement about whether those reports are true. Some technologists claim that the total expense of DeepSeek’s development has not been fully accounted for.
Tsarynny told the Associated Press, “It’s hard to believe that we are unknowingly allowing China to survey Americans and we are not doing anything to stop it.” “I find it difficult to believe that this was an accident.” This has a lot of strange aspects to it. Are you familiar with the saying, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire”? He remarked, “In this case, there is a lot of smoke.”
Source : CNBC news
