Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into DeepSeek, a Chinese AI firm with alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In a bold move underscoring concerns over data privacy and national security, Paxton has signaled that the company's AI technologies not only challenge the supremacy of domestic AI innovation but also potentially infringe upon the Texan citizenry's rights to data privacy as per the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act.

Under the radar of American technology and at the heel of the CCP, DeepSeek is accused of acting as a vessel for Chinese interests, aiming to siphon the personal information of American citizens. Attorney General Paxton, protective of Texas's statutory rights and the broader American technological landscape, sent Civil Investigative Demands to tech giants Google and Apple, coercing the Silicon Valley staples into submitting their analyses of the DeepSeek app. This ask — to share the documentation that DeepSeek had previously provided — became necessary once their app became accessible to consumers.

In words obtained from the official Texas Attorney General's office release, Paxton asserted, "DeepSeek appears to be no more than a proxy for the CCP to undermine American AI dominance and steal the data of our citizens." He continued to outline the objectives of the investigation and to urge cooperation from Google and Apple in this escalating data privacy affair.

With data security in the forefront of national discourse, Paxton had already earlier ordered, rooted in security anxieties and the company's ostensible fealty to the CCP, the DeepSeek app to be proscribed from all Office of the Attorney General devices. This move, occurring on January 28, seemed all but a precursor to a broader offensive against the AI firm — one that seeks to safeguard American ingenuity and the private information of Texas residents from foreign tampering.