(The Center Square) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee banned the Chinese app Manus and joined other governors in prohibiting DeepSeek from state-owned devices.
Manus, owned by the popular Chinese tech company Alibaba, debuted on Thursday as a rival to DeepSeek. Tennessee is the first state to ban Manus.
The apps pose a threat to data privacy and cyber security, the governor said.
“Tennessee has taken consistent action to mitigate risk from platforms with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, including TikTok, and banning Manus and DeepSeek on state devices will further reduce security risks to Tennesseans,” Lee said.
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti warned consumers about DeepSeek.
“DeepSeek creates real risk for both our country and our consumers,” Skrmetti said. “Any private citizen thinking of using DeepSeek needs to be sure they understand the ramifications for their privacy and their security.”
The data is not strongly encrypted, and there are no limits on how the Chinese government could use it, according to Skrmetti’s office.
Skrmetti signed a letter to Congressional leadership along with 20 other attorneys general calling on them to put limits on DeepSeek.
Congress has also raised concerns about DeepSeek. U.S. Reps. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., introduced the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act” in February. The bill would prohibit the app on federal technologies with exceptions for law enforcement and national security-related activities.
