A bipartisan report, recently issued by the US Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), accuses DeepSeek of a series of subversive, illegal, and immoral practices. Moreover, the tech giant NVIDIA is also catching the ire of US government officials for supplying DeepSeek with the chips needed to create the AI models.
Investigating DeepSeek
The report, titled “DeepSeek Unmasked: Exposing the CCP’s Latest Tool for Spying, Stealing, and Subverting U.S. Export Control Restrictions,” was published in April 2025. It levies numerous accusations against DeepSeek, including:
- Actively suppressing more than 85% of responses that are related to human rights, democracy, Taiwan, or Hong Kong.
- Being owned and operated by a company with a direct link to the CCP.
- Currently funneling data on American users to the CCP.
- Maintaining infrastructure that is linked to Chinese companies utilizing mass surveillance, data harvesting, and censorship.
In addition to the aforementioned accusations, the report also links dozens of DeepSeek employees and researchers to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the military wing of the CCP.
“This report makes it clear: DeepSeek isn’t just another AI app — it’s a weapon in the Chinese Communist Party’s arsenal, designed to spy on Americans, steal our technology, and subvert U.S. law,” said Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI).
DeepSeek has already been banned in some countries including Australia, India, Italy, South Korea, and Taiwan due to potential security concerns. Its usage has also been banned by the US Congress, NASA, and among government entities within the state of Texas.
Exploring NVIDIA’s role
DeepSeek wasn’t the only company mentioned in the report; the tech giant NVIDIA also faces accusations, including:
- Supplying DeepSeek with more than 60,000 chips for the development of its platform, possibly circumventing export regulations.
- Developing a modified chip as a workaround to a loophole in regulations.
NVIDIA spokesman John Rizzo previously issued a statement saying, in part: “We insist that our partners comply with all applicable laws, and if we receive any information to the contrary, act accordingly,” as reported by The New York Times.
But NVIDIA’s statement isn’t enough for the congressional committee, which is accusing countries like Singapore and Malaysia of purchasing chips and illegally exporting them to China. As such, the committee is asking NVIDIA to provide specific details concerning every customer account from no less than 11 Asian countries. The committee is expecting NVIDIA’s response within two weeks.
Waiting for a resolution
The US Select Committee on the CCP first began investigating DeepSeek and its rapid pace of technological advancement in February 2025. While their recent report includes some very serious allegations against both DeepSeek and NVIDIA, it’s important to remember that all parties remain innocent until proven guilty.
