TEXAS has become the first US state to ban the TikTok alternative RedNote and the chatbot DeepSeek over fears Americans’ data could end up in the hands of Chinese Communist Party officials.
Governor Greg Abbott issued the order just days after the ChatGPT alternative rocketed to the top of the Apple Store.
3
Now the apps have been banned on government-issued devices.
“Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps,” Abbott warned in a statement.
“Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors.”
Chinese companies must share data with the government, which has increased security fears.
DeepSeek responds to prompts like ChatGPT, but the app refuses to answer political questions about China’s president Xi Jinping.
The AI chatbot also skirts around questions like the Tiananmen Square massacre.
“Sorry I’m not sure how to approach this type of question yet,” the app reportedly tells users.
“Let’s chat about math, coding and logic problem instead.”
Cybersecurity experts at Kela warned the app’s model is “highly vulnerable,” as reported by Forbes.
They have alluded to how the app could be used for attacks on America’s enemies.
And, experts at Enkrpyt AI warned that the DeepSeek app is 11 times more likely than the program OpenAI to produce harmful content, as reported by EuroNews.
The app has left the tech world reeling as it rocketed to the top of the Apple Store in the US, UK and China.
Cybersecurity experts have warned of the potential threats that DeepSeek may pose.
The Taiwanese government has warned officials shouldn’t use DeepSeek.
The chatbot is powered by software that cost $6 million – far less than its western rivals.
What are large language models?
A LARGE language model is a type of artificial intelligence that uses machine learning to analyze text.
Huge quantities of text-based data, like books and articles, are fed into the software to teach it how language works.
When up and running, the models are able to generate relevant textual responses to prompts.
They can also summarise and translate passages of words.
The gold standard is for a LLM to produce “natural”, human-like responses to whatever is input.
Problems can arise with LLMs if they are fed incorrect information, which can cause inaccurate responses.
The most advanced LLMs are called generative pretrained transformers – which is what the acronym in ChatGPT stands for.
Modern LLMs emerged in 2017 and use transformer models with a very large number of parameters – the variable present in the model that affects its output.
OpenAI released its ChatGPT-4 in 2023, which was widely praised and massively raised the profile of LLMs.
“There is clearly mounting pressure on America’s Big Tech players if DeepSeek can compete with them using far fewer resources,” former Google CEO Eric Schmidt wrote in an Washington Post op-ed.
TIKTOK BLACKOUT
RedNote surged in popularity after TikTok temporarily went dark in the US.
TikTok went dark on the evening of January 18 after the Supreme Court upheld a law brought in by Congress.
The legislation gave app bosses an ultimatum, forcing them to sell the platform to an American buyer or risk punishment.
TikTok went down across the US before its services were gradually restored on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration.
TikTokers that tried to access the social media app, which has around 170 million users across the US, were met with a pop-up forcing them to close the platform.
The app was down for about 12 hours before chiefs started to restore platforms.
Trump signed an executive order last week that delays any ban by 75 days.
Trump wants an American company to hold a 50% stake in the platform.
The president turned to TikTok as a tool during his 2024 election campaign.
And, he appears to have downplayed security fears that are held by some Republican lawmakers.
Republican lawmakers Michael McCaul and Josh Hawley have echoed concerns about TikTok.
McCaul branded TikTok a spy balloon in American cell phones.
How Trump can save TikTok
On January 17, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld a congressional bill banning TikTok in the United States
The ban went into force on January 19 and users received a message that the app was no longer available.
But, bosses urged fans to stay tuned.
Joe Biden refused to take any action when it came to enforcing the ban before leaving office on January 20.
He said that the issue will be for the incoming administration.
President Donald Trump has vowed to save the app.
Trump signed an executive order delaying any ban for 75 days.
He wants an American company to hold a 50% share in the social media giant.
Abbott has not just blocked the two apps as he’s also outlawed Lemon8.
Lemon8, which has similarities with Instagram, is owned by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.
The platform has been likened to an app that contains features of TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest.
Social media users can upload images and share and edit videos.
Lemon8 hit American app stores in 2023 – three years after the platform was launched in Asia.
3
3
