US lawmakers introduced a bill which proposes a ban on US government agencies using Chinese AI models, taking aim at companies like DeepSeek.
The “No Adversarial AI Act” was introduced to the House of Representatives by two members of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
It proposes the creation of a permanent framework for barring the use of all Chinese models from US executive agencies, in addition to those from Russia, Iran and North Korea. The framework would include a list, created by the Federal Acquisition Security Council, with the names of AI models created in the countries in question and be regularly updated.
US government agencies would not be able to access the models or use the AI technologies without an exemption, such as for research.
John Moolenaar, who chairs the Select Committee, stated “the US must draw a hard line: hostile AI systems have no business operating inside our government”.
He continued: “This legislation creates a permanent firewall to keep adversary AI out of our most sensitive networks – where the cost of compromise is simply too high.”
The move comes after a senior State Department official told Reuters this week DeepSeek was aiding China’s military and intelligence operations, while having access to large volumes of Nvidia chips.
DeepSeek caused a stir at the start of 2025 after introducing its R1 AI model, putting it into direct competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Analysts argued the release showcased China’s ability to develop advanced AI models at a lower cost to Western rivals, as well as its ability to cope with US export controls.