Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) banned state officials from using Chinese-owned technology such as DeepSeek and RedNote on government devices Friday.
“Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps,” Abbott said in a press release. “Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors.”
In recent weeks, DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup, and RedNote, a short-form video social media app, have surged in popularity across the country as concerns about Chinese-owned tech continue to escalate following TikTok’s short-lived ban in the U.S.
“State agencies and employees responsible for handling critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and personal information must be protected from malicious espionage operations by the Chinese Communist Party,” Abbott added in the release.
President Trump called DeepSeek’s newfound hold in the country a “wakeup call.”
“The release of DeepSeek, AI from a Chinese company, should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win,” he told House Republicans at their annual policy retreat earlier this week.
Meanwhile, former Google CEO Eric Schmitt called the AI startup’s burst onto the scene a “turning point” in the global artificial intelligence race.
“There is clearly mounting pressure on America’s Big Tech players if DeepSeek can compete with them using far fewer resources,” he wrote in an op-ed.
However, DeepSeek has largely been dismissed by other tech leaders. OpenAI creator Sam Altman claimed the AI model’s impact has been “wildly overstated” while Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg voiced confidence in his own company’s AI work.
RedNote, also barred by Abbott in the order, was among the top free downloads in Apple’s U.S. app store the week TikTok’s court ordered ban was slated to come into effect.
Abbott previously banned TikTok from government devices in 2022.
Other apps included in the Texas ban include Webull, Tiger Brokers, Moomoo and Lemon8.
