Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced the initiation of an investigation into the Chinese company DeepSeek, which is suspected of violating the state’s data privacy laws.
As part of the inquiry, the Attorney General’s office has issued formal requests to Google and Apple, demanding a thorough analysis of DeepSeek’s operations as well as documentation pertaining to the app’s approval and distribution on their platforms.
Paxton asserted that DeepSeek may serve as a tool to undermine the United States’ competitive edge in artificial intelligence while also facilitating the collection of American citizens’ data for the benefit of Chinese authorities. Given these concerns, he has urged immediate cooperation from technology firms and called for the disclosure of all relevant materials. As of now, DeepSeek, Google, and Apple have yet to comment on the matter.
Growing apprehensions regarding DeepSeek have led to governmental restrictions on the application in multiple countries. Recently, New York State prohibited the installation of DeepSeek on government-issued devices, while South Korea’s Ministry of Defense blocked access to the service on official computers. Similar measures have already been enacted by Australia, Italy, and Taiwan. At the federal level, even stricter regulations are under consideration, including a proposed bill that would ban the app’s use on all government-issued devices.
Notably, Republican Senator Josh Hawley has introduced legislation seeking to prohibit the import and export of artificial intelligence technologies between the United States and China. If enacted, individuals who downloaded and utilized the Chinese AI model DeepSeek could face up to 20 years in prison, fines reaching $1 million, or both.
