Paxton launches investigation into DeepSeek

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has opened an investigation into Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek over its privacy practices and claims about its popular new AI model.

Paxton said Friday that he sent requests for information to Apple and Google, seeking their analysis of DeepSeek’s application and the documentation it was required to submit to appear on their respective app stores.

“DeepSeek appears to be no more than a proxy for the CCP to undermine American AI dominance and steal the data of our citizens,” Paxton said in a statement, referencing the Chinese Communist Party. “That’s why I’m announcing a thorough investigation and calling on Google and Apple to cooperate immediately by providing all relevant documents related to the DeepSeek app.”

“The United States and Texas will continue to be at the forefront of global AI innovation, and any CCP-aligned company that tries to undermine that dominance by violating the rights of Texans and illegally undercutting American technology companies will face the full force of the law,” he continued.

Paxton also said he notified DeepSeek that its platform violates the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act.

Following the release of the startup’s new AI model last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) banned state officials from using it and other Chinese technology on government devices. Virginia and New York have followed suit with similar bans.

DeepSeek's ties to China have sparked data privacy and national security concerns not unlike those that surrounded TikTok.

Chinese companies are required to share data with the Chinese government if requested, raising the prospect that Beijing could access or manipulate U.S. user data.

Lawmakers expressed similar concerns about TikTok, leading wide bipartisan majorities to pass a law last year requiring its China-based parent company ByteDance to divest or face a U.S. ban.

The ban was set to go into effect in mid-January. However, President Trump put enforcement on hold for 75 days as he attempts to reach a deal to keep the popular video-sharing platform available in the U.S.

DeepSeek’s emergence last month also spooked investors, who sold off billions of dollars’ worth of tech stocks, after the Chinese startup claimed it spent just $5.6 million to train its new R1 model that could perform on par with OpenAI’s latest models.

This threatened to upend the current consensus on AI development, as U.S. tech firms funnel billions of dollars into infrastructure, like chips and data centers, in order to build new models.

However, U.S. tech leaders have largely dismissed the concerns, voicing confidence in their decision to continue investing massive amounts in AI infrastructure.

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