Texas bans DeepSeek, RedNote & Lemon8 on authorities gadgets, goes after Chinese language tech companies – Firstpost

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has taken a agency stance towards Chinese language-affiliated social media and AI apps by increasing the ban on government-issued gadgets to incorporate extra Chinese language tech corporations.  

Constructing on the 2022 ban of TikTok, Abbott has now prohibited six further apps—AI mannequin DeepSeek, social media platforms Lemon8 and RedNote, and stock-trading apps Moomoo, Tiger Brokers, and Webull—from getting used on state gadgets.  

The transfer is a part of a broader effort to safeguard the state’s infrastructure and information from potential Chinese language authorities affect.

Defending essential infrastructure from information harvesting

In an announcement, Governor Abbott warned that Texas wouldn’t tolerate the infiltration of its essential infrastructure by means of apps that harvest information. He emphasised that the Chinese language Communist Occasion’s affect in these apps may pose a major safety danger.  

Texas, like a number of different states within the US, has raised considerations in regards to the potential of Chinese language corporations to entry information by means of their apps, which might be shared with the Chinese language authorities beneath native legal guidelines. This, in accordance with Abbott, makes these apps a possible menace to the state’s cybersecurity and privateness.

The choice to broaden the listing of banned apps comes as cybersecurity consultants increase alarms in regards to the safety vulnerabilities in Chinese language-made tech.  

Kela, a cybersecurity agency, has flagged DeepSeek’s AI mannequin as “extremely susceptible,” highlighting the way it may doubtlessly be used for malicious functions. Abbott’s ban goals to mitigate these dangers by reducing off entry to those applied sciences on authorities gadgets.

Surge in reputation and worldwide scrutiny

The ban follows a major surge in reputation for a number of of the focused apps. DeepSeek, a Chinese language AI mannequin, lately noticed its internet visitors skyrocket from 300,000 every day visits to six million. This sudden rise in consideration has raised considerations each within the US and overseas.  

Former President Donald Trump described DeepSeek’s fast development as a “wake-up name” for American corporations, urging them to adapt rapidly to the rising menace posed by Chinese language expertise.

DeepSeek has additionally drawn the eye of different governments. Taiwan has suggested its officers to not use the app, citing safety considerations, whereas Italy has gone as far as to impose an outright ban on the service. South Korea and several other different nations have launched investigations into the AI mannequin, reflecting rising worldwide unease over its potential for information misuse.

RedNote and different Chinese language apps beneath scrutiny

Alongside DeepSeek, RedNote, a short-form video social community much like TikTok, has additionally seen a surge in reputation. Nevertheless, its development was short-lived, with a 50 per cent drop in visitors after TikTok’s return following a brief blackout in January.  

Regardless of its fast rise, RedNote has now joined the ranks of different Chinese language apps beneath scrutiny within the US for his or her information practices.

The Texas ban on these apps comes amid ongoing discussions about TikTok’s future in the US President Trump lately signed an government order giving TikTok 75 days to discover a purchaser that may divest the app from its Chinese language possession.  

Corporations like Oracle and Microsoft are reportedly contemplating bids, because the US continues to grapple with the implications of Chinese language tech on nationwide safety. Texas’ determination to focus on these apps is only one a part of the broader effort to guard American pursuits from what officers understand as hostile overseas influences within the digital house.