House Select Committee on the CCP unveil report on Chinese AI firm DeepSeek and Nvidia chip use

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on China released a new investigative report exposing DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence platform, as a serious national security threat to the United States.

Titled, “DeepSeek Unmasked: Exposing the CCP’s Latest Tool For Spying, Stealing, and Subverting U.S. Export Control Restrictions,” the bipartisan report reveals that DeepSeek covertly funnels American user data to the Chinese Communist Party, manipulates information to align with CCP propaganda, and was trained using material unlawfully obtained from U.S. AI models. The report also highlights reporting that DeepSeek operates on tens of thousands of Nvidia chips—some of which are subject to U.S. export controls.

“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 Moolenaar. “We now know this tool exploited U.S. AI models and reportedly used advanced Nvidia chips that should never have ended up in CCP hands. That’s why we’re sending a letter to Nvidia to demand answers. American innovation should never be the engine of our adversaries’ ambitions.”

Key findings include:

• Censorship by Design: More than 85% of DeepSeek’s responses are manipulated to suppress content related to democracy, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and human rights—without disclosure to users.
• Foreign Control: DeepSeek is owned and operated by a CCP-linked company led by Lian Wenfang and ideologically aligned with Xi Jinping Thought.
• U.S. User Data at Risk: The platform funnels American user data through unsecured networks to China, serving as a high-value open-source intelligence asset for the CCP.
• Surveillance Network Ties: DeepSeek’s infrastructure is linked to Chinese state-affiliated firms including ByteDance, Baidu, Tencent, and China Mobile—entities known for censorship, surveillance, and data harvesting.
• Illicit Chip Procurement: DeepSeek was reportedly developed using over 60,000 Nvidia chips, which may have been obtained in circumvention of U.S. export controls.
• Corporate Complicity: Public records show Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang directed the company to design a modified chip specifically to exploit regulatory loopholes after October 2023 restrictions. The Trump Administration is working to close this loophole.

In response to the report’s findings, the Select Committee has sent a formal letter to Nvidia demanding answers about sales to China and Southeast Asia to examine whether and how its chips ended up powering DeepSeek’s AI models—despite U.S. export restrictions.

The Committee will continue investigating how American innovation is being exploited by the Chinese Communist Party and will work to ensure that U.S. companies are not enabling the CCP’s efforts to undermine our national security.

Read the full report: DeepSeek Unmasked: Exposing the CCP’s Latest Tool For Spying, Stealing, and Subverting U.S. Export Control Restrictions