Texas AG Ken Paxton investigates Chinese AI firm DeepSeek over privacy and security concerns
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence company that his office says is connected to the Chinese Communist Party.
According to Paxton's office, the probe will scrutinize the company's data privacy practices and assertions that its AI model is on par with sophisticated models like OpenAI's Model o1.
DeepSeek has been notified that its platform violates the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, the attorney general's office said in a news release.
Paxton expressed concerns that DeepSeek is a proxy for the Chinese Communist Party to undermine American AI dominance and steal data.
"The United States and Texas will continue to be at the forefront of global AI innovation, and any CCP (Chinese Communist Party)-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," Paxton said in the release.
Paxton has called on Google and Apple to provide all relevant documents related to the DeepSeek app.
In late January, Paxton directed that DeepSeek's platform be banned on all attorney general's office devices due to security concerns and the company's connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
