Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin (R) banned state employees on Tuesday, using an artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by Chinese startup DeepSeek on the state's issuing devices and national network.
“China's Deepshek AI poses a threat to the safety and security of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” he said in a statement. “We must take steps to protect the operations and information from the Chinese Communist Party.”
In an executive order issued Tuesday, Youngkin banned employees from downloading or using the DeepSeek app on government-owned or leasing devices, as well as banning government-owned, operated or maintained wireless networks.
Employees who have already downloaded the app were instructed to remove it from their devices by Wednesday.
The executive order noted that DeepSeek “stimulates serious security and privacy concerns,” and its webpage includes a code that allows users to send user login information to China Mobile, a state-run China carrier. It points to research that demonstrates that this is the case.
Oka reached out to Deepseyk for comment.
Youngkin's order follows a similar move by other state authorities amid the rapid rise in Deepshek's popularity. Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) banned the use of Chinese-owned AI and social media, including Deepseek and Tiktok-Alternative Rednote earlier this month.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) also announced Monday that state government employees will be banned from downloading apps for state-managed devices and networks, and Deepseek's “to monitor and censor foreign governments.” cites concerns about the connections of the two countries.
At the federal level, Josh Gottimer (DN.J.) and Darrin Lahod (R-Ill.) proposed laws banning deep seeking from government devices.
Deepseek exploded into the scene last month after unveiling a new R1 model. This saw the Chinese startup claims work on par with Openai's latest model, and cost just $5.6 million to develop.
The revelation has panicked investors when we consider the billions of dollars that American AI companies have committed to building infrastructure to develop technology.
While US tech companies have largely dispelled these concerns and expressed their trust in AI investments, DeepSeek has raised national security and data privacy concerns in light of its relationship with China. .
Similar concerns have been at the heart of the push to force Tiktoc's China-based parent company to sell its deadlines from the app or face a US ban. The ban came into force technically last month, but President Trump ordered the Attorney General not to enforce the law for 75 days in an attempt to attack transactions that would make the app available in the US.
