DeepSeek ban has started in the US. The first state in the United States of America (USA) to ban China’s DeepSeek AI is Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued an order banning the Chinese-owned artificial intelligence app DeepSeek from the State-issued devices. This makes Texas the first state in the US to take such an action.
Texas governor Greg Abbott issued an order banning the Chinese app.Abbott cited concerns about the Chinese Communist Party’s potential access to sensitive data through these apps. “Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps,” Abbott stated. He emphasized the need to protect state agencies and employees handling critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and personal information from “malicious espionage operations.” “To achieve that mission, I ordered Texas state agencies to ban Chinese government-based AI and social media apps from all state-issued devices. State agencies and employees responsible for handling critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and personal information must be protected from malicious espionage operations by the Chinese Communist Party. Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors,” his statement said

Elon Musk wants to create ‘history’ in Texas with his SpaceX plan

Incidentally, Texas is the state that the world’s richest man Elon Musk has moved his company SpaceX’s headquarters to. In July last year, Elon Musk announced that he would officially move the headquarters of SpaceX and his social media site X from California to Texas.

An upset Musk had then said that the move was in response to a California law prohibiting rules requiring teachers to notify parents if a child changes their name, pronouns, or gender identity at school.
SpaceX workers living in Cameron County filed an official petition in January 2025 to hold an election on incorporation later in the month. The document proposes the initial plans for the town and if they translate into reality, Musk will have created history again. The petition outlines a community of roughly 500 residents. These include 219 primary residents and over 100 children. The proposed location, covering about 1.5 square miles, is near Boca Chica Beach at the end of State Highway 4. If approved, Starbase will be able to establish its own police and fire departments and enact its own ordinances.

DeepSeek’s global rise

The Chinese AI app DeepSeek gained attention recently for outperforming OpenAI at a much lower cost. However, it has also raised security concerns due to reports of user data being collected and stored in China. Chinese law mandates that companies share data with the government upon request, raising fears about potential access to American user data by the Chinese Communist Party. The US Navy has also blocked DeepSeek due to these concerns.

Other Chinese apps and platforms banned

Other than DeepSeek, the order also bans some other Chinese social media platforms including RedNote and Lemon8. The ban also includes other apps affiliated with the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, such as Webull, Tiger Brokers and Moomoo. Lemon8 is owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.