US officials are specifically worried about that dynamic, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
They also believe that DeepSeek hasn’t fully explained how it uses the data it collects and who is able to access the sensitive information.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Aside from weighing a ban for DeepSeek downloads on government devices, officials are mulling potentially barring the AI chatbot from US-based app stores run by the likes of Apple and Google or restricting US cloud computing firms from supporting access to the service for their customers, the Journal reported.
The sources reportedly said discussions on those two alternative paths are still in their early stages.