China's AI DeepSeek faces House probe over US data harvesting, CCP propaganda

FIRST ON FOX: A powerful House Committee is demanding information from DeepSeek on what U.S. data it used to train the AI model as members accuse the company of being in the pocket of the Chinese government.
In announcing a new probe into DeepSeek, House Energy and Commerce committee members penned a letter expressing concern that companies like it "harvest Americans' personal and proprietary information and introduce new data security vulnerabilities into the U.S. economy."
"DeepSeek admits to sending Americans' personal information to servers in China, where it is undoubtedly accessed by officials connected to the Chinese Communist Party," Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., said in a statement. "We are concerned that this close relationship with agents having close connections to our primary adversary jeopardizes our data and our national security."
The company's privacy policy states that it collects user data and stores it "in secure servers located in the People's Republic of China." That data entails all questions or chats sent to DeepSeek's AI model and the answers provided.
Deepseek Fallout: Gop Sen Josh Hawley Seeks To Cut Off All Us-china Collaboration On Ai Development
A growing number of states – New York, Texas and Virginia – have banned DeepSeek from government devices.
Read On The Fox News App
It's reminiscent of the arc of TikTok, where Chinese-owned ByteDance's video-sharing platform became widely popular in the U.S. before growing skepticism of its data-sharing with the CCP. Now, the app is banned on government devices and may soon be banned entirely in the U.S.
Several countries, including Canada, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and Italy, have already blocked DeepSeek due to security risks.
South Korea in February accused DeepSeek of sharing user data with ByteDance.
The letter expressed concern about how Chinese companies access U.S. technology to advance AI development. Reports have suggested that DeepSeek trained its R1 model by "distilling" outputs from American competitors.
China's Deepseek Ai Startup Releases New Model In Rivalry With Openai
Guthrie requested DeepSeek offer the committee a description of the types and sources of data used to train its AI models, including any U.S. proprietary or personal information, and confirm whether data collected by DeepSeek is shared with any Chinese state entity.
The letter also requests details on how the AI system is trained and whether any steps are taken to influence the system output to align with the CCP's political goals.
The letter requests a response by May 8.
DeepSeek sent shockwaves across Silicon Valley and the rest of the U.S. as the company appears to be nearly matching the capabilities of chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, but at a fraction of the development cost.
The Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over AI and data privacy. Last year's legislation that forced TikTok to divest from ByteDance, or face a ban in the U.S., originated with the committee. Trump has extended TikTok's deadline twice, buying more time to work out a deal to keep the app operating in the U.S.
In April, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a report finding that DeepSeek both funneled American data to China and manipulated the results it offers to align with CCP propaganda.Original article source: China's AI DeepSeek faces House probe over US data harvesting, CCP propaganda

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Newsweek

34 minutes ago

• Newsweek

China Issues Warning Over US Bombing of Iran

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. China accused the U.S. of violating the United Nations charter with its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and warned all parties involved in the conflict to prevent any further escalation. "The U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities seriously violate the purposes and principles of the UN charter and has exacerbated tensions in the Middle East. The UN Security Council cannot sit idly by," said Lin Jian, spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, at a press briefing on Monday, June 23. Lin said China, Russia, and Pakistan proposed a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire". "Together, we sent out the message of justice that reflects the strong call from the international community," Lin said. "We hope council members can jointly support the draft resolution and enable the Security Council to play its role for the maintenance of international peace and security." Lin added that "China urges parties to the conflict to prevent the escalation of the situation" and said Beijing is "willing to work with well-meaning sides to enhance communication and coordination and play a constructive role in restoring peace in the Middle East." This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.

43 minutes ago

Oil gains and US stock futures, Asian shares slip after US strikes Iran nuclear sites

BANGKOK -- Global markets appeared to take the U.S. strike against nuclear targets in Iran in stride as investors watched to see how Iran will react. The price of oil initially jumped more than 2% but fell back slightly on Monday. U.S. stock futures and most Asian shares declined. The big question is what Iran will do, analysts said, while the U.S. military's strike on three Iranian sites raised urgent questions about what remains of Tehran's nuclear program. "I believe what we are thinking is or the thinking is that it is going to be a short conflict. The one big hit by the Americans will be effective and then we'll get back to sort of business as usual, in which case there is no need for an immediate, panicky type of reaction,' said Neil Newman, managing director of Atris Advisory Japan. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, was up 1.2% at $77.94 a barrel. U.S. crude also jumped, gaining 1.3% to $74.82 a barrel. The attacks Saturday raised the stakes in the war between Israel and Iran, and the futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%. The Nasdaq future contract fell 0.5%. Treasury yields were little changed. The conflict began with an Israeli attack against Iran on June 13 that sent oil prices yo-yoing and rattled other markets. Iran is a major producer of oil and also sits on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's crude passes. Closing off the waterway would be technically difficult to pull off but it could severely disrupt transit through it, sending insurance rates spiking and making shippers nervous to move without U.S. Navy escorts 'The situation remains highly fluid, and much hinges on whether Tehran opts for a restrained reaction or a more aggressive course of action,' Kristian Kerr, head of macro strategy at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina, said in a commentary. Iran may be reluctant to close down the waterway because it uses the strait to transport its own crude, mostly to China, and oil is a major revenue source for the regime. Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said disrupting traffic through the strait would be 'economic suicide" and would elicit a U.S. response. "I would encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that because they heavily depend on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil,' Rubio said. Tom Kloza, chief market analyst at Turner Mason & Co said he expects Iranian leaders to refrain from drastic measures and oil futures to ease back after the initial fears blow over. Disrupting shipping would be " a scorched earth possibility, a Sherman-burning-Atlanta move,' Kloza said. Writing in a report, Ed Yardeni, a long-time analyst, agreed that Tehran leaders would likely hold back. 'They aren't crazy,' he wrote in a note to investors Sunday. 'The price of oil should fall and stock markets around the world should climb higher.' Other experts aren't so sure. Andy Lipow, a Houston analyst covering oil markets for 45 years, said countries are not always rational actors and that he wouldn't be surprised if Tehran lashed out for political or emotional reasons. 'If the Strait of Hormuz was completely shut down, oil prices would rise to $120 to $130 a barrel,' said Lipow, predicting that that would translate to about $4.50 a gallon at the pump and hurt consumers in other ways. 'It would mean higher prices for all those goods transported by truck, and it would be more difficult for the Fed to lower interest rates.' In Asian trading early Monday, Taiwan's Taiex fell 1.4% while the Kospi in South Korea initially lost 1% but then regained some lost ground to fall 0.2% to 3,016.71. Much of East Asia depends on oil imported through the Strait of Hormuz. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 edged 0.2% lower to 38,344.15, as losses for most shares were offset by gains for defense oriented stocks. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries climbed 0.8% and ShinMaywa Industries, another major weapons maker, surged 1.5%. 'The U.S. strike on Iran certainly is very good for defense equipment,' Newman of Atris Advisory said, noting that both Japan and South Korea have sizable military manufacturing hubs. Australia's S&P/ASX fell 0.4% to 8,475.70. Hong Kong's Hang Seng regained lost ground, climbing 0.4% to 23,622.71, while markets in mainland China advanced. The Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.5% to 3,376.65. In currency dealings, the U.S. dollar rose to 147.16 Japanese yen from 146.66 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1515 from $1.1473.

Bloomberg

an hour ago

• Bloomberg

China Asks State-Owned Developers to Avoid Public Debt Defaults

China has introduced a requirement for state-owned developers to avoid defaulting on publicly issued debt, in the latest attempt by authorities to contain the nation's prolonged property crisis. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission added the directive to its latest performance metrics for about 20 developers that are controlled by the central government, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.