Scoop: Congress bans staff use of DeepSeek

• "At this time, DeepSeek is under review by the CAO and is currently unauthorized for official House use," the House's Chief Administrative Officer said in a notice to congressional offices obtained by Axios.

What they're saying: The notice warned that "threat actors are already exploiting DeepSeek to deliver malicious software and infect devices."

• "To mitigate these risks, the House has taken security measures to restrict DeepSeek's functionality on all House-issued devices," it continued.
• Staffers are prohibited from installing DeepSeek on any official phones, computers and tablets, the notice said.

Zoom out: This is far from the first time the CAO has restricted staffers' use of an AI product, though other targeted companies have been based in the U.S.

• In 2023 the office set limits on the use of ChatGPT, telling offices they can only use the paid version of the OpenAI chatbot for certain tasks.
• The CAO also told staffers last April that they could not use Microsoft Copilot, though the company told Axios it was working on a suite of government-oriented tools it hoped would be allowed.

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.