Attorney General Miyares Joins 21-State Coalition Urging Congress to Ban China-Based AI Platform on All Government Devices

Richmond, Va. - Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general urging Congressional leadership to pass the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act,” which will prohibit government devices from downloading and using the Chinese Communist Party’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence software.
 
In a letter sent to congressional leadership Thursday, Attorney General Miyares outlined the threat that DeepSeek poses to the United States. The platform has the capability to send user data directly to the CCP and users may unknowingly be creating accounts in China, making their identities and online behavior visible to the Chinese government.
 
China continues to be one of the biggest national security threats facing the United States. In 2023, a Chinese spy balloon was caught flying over the country. In November, it was announced that China had been conducting cyberespionage aimed at Americans who work in government and politics. In December, the U.S. Treasury Department was notified it had been hacked by China, which had gained access to employees’ workstations and stole data from a committee that reviews foreign investments for national security risks.

“DeepSeek represents not just a security risk but a privacy risk for Virginians as well,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares.  “The weaponization of information by America’s adversaries remains a clear, omnipresent, and ongoing threat to our national security which cannot be ignored.  I strongly urge Congress to act swiftly and in a bi-partisan matter to ban DeepSeek on government devices and protect American interests from foreign adversaries.”

DeepSeek has already been blocked on government devices in Canada, Australia, South Korea, and Taiwan, while Italy has blocked the program across the country. DeepSeek is also linked to China Mobile which has close ties to the Chinese military and has been sanctioned by the U.S. government.
 
“Congress should protect America’s national security by banning DeepSeek on government devices. If it has not already taken action to administratively ban DeepSeek, we trust that the Trump Administration would swiftly implement this ban to protect our national security from America’s ‘potent and dangerous’ adversary,” the attorneys general wrote.
 
Click here to read the letter.

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