GOP Rep. LaHood: We’ll Need to Act on DeepSeek on All Devices, Similar to What We Did with TikTok

On Friday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) discussed his push to ban Chinese AI app DeepSeek from government devices and stated that he believes Congress will ultimately need to act on DeepSeek in a way that applies to all American devices and stated, “similar to what we did with TikTok, we should be looking at it.” And “We cannot trust the CCP to be involved with this app and this AI apparatus.”

Co-host John Berman asked, “Right now, you’re trying to ban it from government devices. Ultimately, do you think you’ll need to take action on all devices in the U.S.?”

LaHood responded, “Of course, similar to what we did with TikTok, we should be looking at it. I also would say this, John, I start with the predicate — let’s not forget, China has a plan to replace the United States, and they’re working at it every single day. They want to beat us technologically, militarily, economically, diplomatically. And, again, it’s interesting, on DeepSeek, you will never see any criticism of Xi Jinping, of the [Chinese Communist] Party. You won’t see any support for Taiwan and their freedom and opportunity there. This is something that shouldn’t be on government devices. We cannot trust the CCP to be involved with this app and this AI apparatus.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett