Now, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has taken action, officially banning DeepSeek AI, Manus and “similar harmful technologies” from state devices and networks in a memo sent Wednesday to all state agency heads and provided to Government Technology.
In the memo, the governor echoes many of the concerns Marshall initially raised at the federal level when he described DeepSeek as “a serious national security threat.” Ivey specifically states that Manus and DeepSeek’s “affiliation with the Chinese government and their vast data-collection capabilities pose unacceptable risks to the state of Alabama and its citizens in terms of data privacy and security.”
The new policies go beyond banning AI technologies like DeepSeek and Manus — both named on an Unauthorized Software List from the Office of Information Technology — to outline a broader strategy for identifying and blocking other harmful software and websites. While exceptions are allowed for law enforcement and essential government services, the policies’ primary aim, according to the text, is to protect Alabama’s state IT infrastructure from threats linked to nations classified as foreign countries of concern, including China (but not Taiwan), Russia, Iran and North Korea.
The memo and ban follow the release Tuesday of the final GenAI report from the Governor’s Task Force on Generative Artificial Intelligence. It outlined recommendations for protecting state IT infrastructure, specifically around data security and GenAI use. The new policies banning DeepSeek and Manus align with those recommendations, Ivey’s memo states.
The Sooner State announced its ban on the use of DeepSeek on all state-owned devices Friday following a review ordered by Gov. Kevin Stitt. At his request, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services evaluated DeepSeek and provided a recommendation on its use. After assessing the risks, the state concluded the tool posed too many security threats to remain on government devices, including laptops, desktops, mobile phones and tablets.
Stitt described the ban as a necessary measure to block foreign adversaries from accessing sensitive information, and said in a news release, “We’re not going to take chances when it comes to protecting Oklahomans’ data.”
The decision to block DeepSeek in Oklahoma was driven by several significant concerns, according to the governor’s office. These include DeepSeek’s practice of storing chat history, files and IP address information in China, which violates the state CIO’s data storage standard, and its vulnerability to adversarial manipulation and lack of “robust security safeguards.”
