DeepSeek prohibited in New York government devices

Increasing concerns regarding the potential utilization of Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek for foreign government surveillance have prompted New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to ban the AI chatbot's usage across all state-issued devices just days after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a similar prohibition for DeepSeek and Chinese-owned social media apps, according to StateScoop.

"Public safety is my top priority and we're working aggressively to protect New Yorkers from foreign and domestic threats. New York will continue fighting to combat cyber threats, ensure the privacy and safety of our data, and safeguard against state-sponsored censorship," said Hochul. Hochul's action was noted by New York State Chief Information Officer and Office of Information Technology Services Director Dru Rai to be in keeping with the state's Acceptable Use of Artificial Intelligence Technologies policy that sought responsible AI evaluations while New York State Chief Cyber Officer Colin Ahern regarded the DeepSeek restrictions as part of the state's continued commitment to combating cyber threats.