New York Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a ban on government devices and networks of the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) app DeepSeek, which could also be banned federally.
The move was made due to serious concerns about DeepSeek's AI linking "to foreign government surveillance and censorship, including how DeepSeek could be used to collect user data and steal technology secrets."
"New York will continue to fight to combat cyber threats, ensure the privacy and security of our data, and protect against censorship," Hochul said in a statement.
The announcement builds on the state's guidance for AI use that was passed last year.
In late January, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in her first press briefing that the US National Security Council is investigating the potential security implications of artificial intelligence (AI) advances by Chinese company DeepSeek.
DeepSeek launched its R1 model on January 20 and the platform has shot to the top spot in Apple's app store, surpassing its US rival ChatGPT in daily downloads.
Last week, US representatives from both parties announced that a bill will be introduced in Congress to ban DeepSeek software on federal government devices.
Last week, US cybersecurity firm Feroot Security said that DeepSeek's AI model contained lines of code that allowed it to transmit personal data to China Mobile, a Chinese state-owned telecommunications company.
Several countries have already taken action against the Chinese app, citing cybersecurity concerns.
In South Korea, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Commerce announced that they had blocked access to DeepSeek on their computers, awaiting explanations from the company about how it handles the information collected from users.
In Australia, the use of DeepSeek programs has been banned on all government devices due to an "unacceptable level of security risk".
France and Ireland have also announced their intention to ask the Chinese company for information on data protection.
A similar measure has already been implemented in the US against the Chinese social network TikTok, also for security reasons.
