Gov. Lee bans Manus, DeepSeek AI platforms on Tennessee state network

PRESS RELEASE FROM GOVERNER BILL LEE'S PRESS OFFICE:

March 6, 2025

WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Staff,

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, Gov. Bill Lee announced that two artificial intelligence (AI) tools with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party are now banned on the state network. Manus and DeepSeek have been added to a list of foreign-owned platforms that are now strictly prohibited due to serious threats regarding data privacy and cyber security. Tennessee becomes the first state in the Nation to ban the Alibaba-owned Manus platform, which launched earlier today.

“As artificial intelligence platforms emerge and this technology landscape evolves, there is growing concern regarding data protection and the threat of influence from foreign adversaries,” said Gov. Lee. “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.”

Security threats posed by the Manus and DeepSeek platforms include:

Censorship and Propaganda: Integrating Chinese political values into its output, which could lead to the spread of misinformation.
Bias & Discrimination: Generates output that displays biases in areas such as race, gender, health, and religion, leading to discriminatory results.
Data Privacy: Collects sensitive user information, including IP addresses, keystrokes, and behavior patterns. This data is stored on Chinese servers for unspecified purposes, raising the potential for espionage or targeted influence campaigns.
Cybersecurity: The platforms have vulnerabilities that could be exploited by adversaries to generate malicious code or compromise sensitive information.

Following Tennessee’s state ban on DeepSeek, the Tennessee Attorney General issued a consumer warning regarding the platform.

Tennessee has a strong track record on data protection and cybersecurity:

Lee took decisive action to ban TikTok from the state network and state devices in December 2022, making Tennessee the first state to do so.
In June 2024, Gov. Lee directed a state ban on financial services platforms with ties to the Chinese government, including Webull, Tiger Brokers, Moomoo and Futu Holdings, and digital-assets brokerage Prometheum.

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