Texas AG launches investigation of Chinese AI firm DeepSeek

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday announced an investigation into Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek, calling it a proxy for the Chinese Communist Party. The company’s generative AI platform also violated the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, Paxton said. Late last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott banned DeepSeek’s platform from all government-issued devices over security concerns. DeepSeek’s open-source R1 model made a dent in the U.S.-dominated tech stock market when it debuted in mid-January.

Is DeepSeek connected to the Chinese government? Chinese data protection laws require DeepSeek to store data on servers inside China’s borders and to share it with the Chinese government on request. DeepSeek’s app does not respond to user queries about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, a topic heavily censored by the CCP. The app also claims Taiwan is part of China, not an independent country.

Not much is known about DeepSeek’s CEO Liang Wenfeng, who also developed the company’s AI system. He graduated from Zhejiang University with information engineering and computer science degrees and also established the High-Flyer hedge fund, according to the Associated Press. But DeepSeek appears to limit information that its users can gather about Liang.

Who else has banned DeepSeek? The states of Virginia and New York recently banned the app from state-run devices and networks. Taiwan and South Australia have also blocked it from government devices. Italy suspended all downloads of DeepSeek, and South Korea followed suit on Monday.