Chinese AI application DeepSeek has rapidly gained popularity among American users, raising concerns among Trump administration officials, lawmakers, and cybersecurity experts about potential threats to U. S. national security. Launched in the U. S. on Monday, DeepSeek quickly became the most downloaded free app on Apple’s app store. This sudden rise impacted Wall Street, resulting in a 17% drop in Nvidia's shares, wiping out about $600 billion in market value—a record decline for a U. S. stock. President Trump called the launch a "wake-up call, " while White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the National Security Council would investigate potential national security risks associated with it, emphasizing the need to maintain U. S. AI leadership. Lawmakers, including Rep. John Moolenaar, expressed concerns over the risk posed by DeepSeek, stressing that the U. S. must not allow the Chinese Communist Party to exploit American technology to advance its AI goals.

He advocated for stronger export controls on technologies critical to DeepSeek’s AI infrastructure. DeepSeek's arrival coincides with heightened tensions between the U. S. and China, with the U. S. already implementing strict export controls on Chinese semiconductor production to limit AI advancements. Concerns were raised about user data security since Chinese laws grant the government broad access to data from domestic companies. Experts warn that as more Americans use DeepSeek, personal data could be sent to the Chinese government for purposes such as disinformation campaigns. DeepSeek, based in Hangzhou, China, specifies in its privacy policy that user data is stored on secure servers in China, collecting details like device models, IP addresses, and service-related data. This contrasts with TikTok, which moved its U. S. data to American infrastructure to mitigate regulatory concerns. The recent law aimed at curbing foreign adversary-controlled apps could potentially apply to DeepSeek, although its open-source nature may make it less vulnerable to a ban. Additionally, users might face censorship within the app; investigations found that DeepSeek suppressed information on sensitive subjects like the Tiananmen Square protests. Experts argue this selective information control could prompt Western governments to reconsider hosting DeepSeek on their platforms due to its alignment with Chinese censorship practices.