Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on February 14, 2024, that his office has opened an investigation into DeepSeek’s privacy practices. DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence company with ties to the People’s Republic of China, has been banned on state owned devices in Texas, New York, and Virginia. The Pentagon, NASA, and the U.S. Navy have also prohibited employees from using DeepSeek.

According to Paxton’s press release, he has notified DeepSeek “that its platform violates the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act.” He sent civil investigative demands to tech companies to obtain information about their analysis of the application and any documentation DeepSeek forwarded to the tech companies before they were offered to consumers.

DeepSeek has been banned in Italy, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, and India.