Texas Governor Greg Abbott has officially banned government employees from using DeepSeek, Xiaohongshu (RedNote), and Lemon8 on state-issued devices.
The decision comes amid growing concerns over data privacy and national security.
Several U.S. states have already taken similar steps, blocking Chinese-owned apps and AI tools from government devices. These restrictions often set the stage for even stricter federal-level actions.
A similar pattern was seen with TikTok, which was first banned on government devices before facing broader restrictions across the U.S.
Abbott made his stance clear in a statement reported by AP News: “Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps. Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors.”
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot, gained rapid global popularity, much like other AI-powered chatbots.
However, questions about how it handles user data have raised concerns worldwide.
In Italy, the data protection authority, Garante, has also taken action against DeepSeek, citing a lack of transparency in how user information is collected and processed.
When challenged, the company responded by stating that it does not operate under Italian jurisdiction, which failed to ease concerns.
Along with DeepSeek, Texas has also banned Xiaohongshu (RedNote) and Lemon8, two Chinese-owned social media apps that have faced scrutiny for similar data privacy issues.
These apps have recently gained significant traction in the U.S., partly due to TikTok’s promotion of them before the bans took effect.
With this move, Texas joins other states in pushing back against foreign-owned digital platforms over fears of data security risks.
It remains to be seen if the federal government will follow suit with broader restrictions in the future.
