Recent reports from the US Commerce Department's bureaus say that they have informed their staff in the past few weeks that the Chinese AI model DeepSeek is now banned from being used on government devices. This information was shared in a message seen by Reuters and confirmed by two people familiar with the matter.

"To help keep Department of Commerce information systems safe, access to the new Chinese-based AI DeepSeek is broadly prohibited on all GFE," said one mass email to staffers about their government-furnished equipment. "Do not download, view, access any applications, desktop apps or websites related to DeepSeek." The Commerce Department did not respond right away to a request for comment. Reuters could not quickly determine how widely the ban applies across the US government.

In January, DeepSeek's affordable AI models caused a significant drop in global stock markets, as investors became concerned about the potential challenge to the United States' lead in AI technology. US government officials and members of Congress have raised alarms about the risks DeepSeek poses to data privacy and sensitive government information. In February, Congressmen Josh Gottheimer and Darin LaHood, who are part of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, introduced a bill to ban DeepSeek from being used on government devices. Earlier this month, they sent letters to US governors asking them to prohibit the use of the Chinese AI app on government-issued devices.

"By using DeepSeek, users are unknowingly sharing highly sensitive, proprietary information with the CCP, such as contracts, documents, and financial records," the lawmakers wrote in a March 3 letter, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. "In the wrong hands, this data is an enormous asset to the CCP, a known foreign adversary." Several states, such as Virginia, Texas, and New York, have banned the model from government devices. Additionally, a group of 21 state attorneys general has called on Congress to introduce legislation on the matter.