Federal agencies will be banned from using artificial intelligence linked to the Chinese government under bipartisan law introduced Wednesday by a group of lawmakers of the House and Senate.
R-Mich. The hostile AL ACT proposal from Rep. John Mourenar and Raja Krishnamoorthi, chairman and ranking member of China's House Selection Committee, is Rick Scott, R-Fla. , Gary Peters, and a legislative companion from D-Mich.
The bill is the latest in a series of other congressional proposals focusing on Deepseek, a Chinese startup that has sparked panic in US technology and AI companies with low-cost AI models. The bipartisan pair of senators introduced a proposal last month to formally ban its use by federal contractors. In particular, US officials recently told Reuters that Deepseek is supporting Chinese military and intelligence news research.
Some agencies, such as NASA, have issued specific memos focusing on banning the use of technology in the federal government.
The House bill was announced in partnership with a hearing on Wednesday focusing on American AI leadership and a committee's campaign raising concerns about protecting American technology and innovation from foreign enemies.
According to a press release, the bill calls for the creation of a list of foreign enemy AI systems managed by the Federal Acquisition Security Council, establishes a “delisting” process that shows companies are not dealing with enemy technology, and in most circumstances federal agencies formally ban technology cooperation.
“It's absolutely crazy that our own federal agencies are using these dangerous platforms and exposing the government to Beijing's control, as we have clear evidence that China has access to US user data on AI systems,” Scott said in a statement.
Related laws introduced this year include the bipartisan Senate bill banning Deepseek from all federal devices and networks, and the bipartisan House bill banning federal employees from using DeepSeek on government-issued devices.
“Chinese, Russian and other enemy AI systems should not be entrusted with government data as they simply do not belong to government equipment,” Krishnamorthi added.
