While there is no blanket ban in the US yet, government sectors, including NASA, have restricted DeepSeek’s app. Credit: Poetra.RH/Shutterstock.

The US government is reportedly weighing potential measures to restrict the use of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, on government-issued devices amid national security concerns.

The administration is expected to introduce a rule that would prevent the installation of the company’s chatbot application on US government devices, The Wall Street Journal reported citing undisclosed sources.   

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This development comes in the wake of officials being concerned about DeepSeek’s handling of user data, which the company stores on servers located in China.

Some have raised concerns about the company’s transparency in collecting and processing user data, as well as who has access to it.

In addition, two other potential restrictions are being claimed to be discussed: a possible ban on DeepSeek from US app stores and limitations on how American cloud service providers can offer the company’s AI models to their customers.

However, these discussions remain in early stages, the sources added.

Earlier in 2025, DeepSeek released an open-source version of its reasoning model, DeepSeek-R1, at a fraction of the cost of its US competitors. The app quickly became the most downloaded worldwide before slipping to seventh place by February.

Apart from the US, other governments have taken steps to restrict the app.

DeepSeek was removed from Italian app stores while South Korean authorities suspended new downloads over concerns about its privacy policies.

In February 2025, the Dutch privacy watchdog, AP, launched an investigation into DeepSeek’s data collection practices.

Australia, Canada, and Taiwan have also banned the use of DeepSeek on government-issued devices.

While there is no blanket ban in the US, certain government sectors, including the Navy and NASA, have restricted DeepSeek’s app.

States such as New York and Texas have also taken measures to limit its use. The open-source nature of DeepSeek’s AI models complicates a broader public ban, as they are freely available for download and use, the news publication added.