DeepSeek, other Chinese apps prohibited in Texas government devices

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has moved to block the usage of Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek in all state government-issued devices, marking the first state ban of the AI chatbot across the U.S., according to The Associated Press.

Chinese-owned social media apps Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, and Lemon8 — both of which gained traction across the U.S. ahead of the temporary TikTok ban last month — have also been restricted in all devices provided by the Texas state government, according to The Associated Press. "Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps. Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors," said Abbott in a statement. Such a development comes after TikTok, whose parent firm ByteDance also owns Lemon8, had its supposed shutdown deferred by President Donald Trump in an executive order issued just hours after his inauguration.