Texas Governor Greg Abbott has taken a firm stance against the growing influence of Chinese smartphone applications in the United States, signing an executive order aimed at limiting their use in Texas. The new measure, announced recently, directs the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Department of Information Resources to add several Chinese applications to the state’s blacklist.
Among the apps now banned are RedNote, DeepSeek, Webull, Tiger Brokers, Moomoo, and Lemon8. The executive order also prohibits any artificial intelligence (AI) and social media apps with connections to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from being used on government-issued devices.
With this directive, state employees and contractors are now forbidden from downloading or using these apps on state-owned devices or personal devices used for work purposes. Governor Abbott stated, "Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps," underscoring his growing concern over the potential risks posed by these technologies.
This move is part of Abbott's ongoing efforts to take a tougher stance on Chinese tech. In 2022, he already prohibited the use of TikTok on government-owned devices, citing security and privacy concerns. His latest actions come at a time when Chinese apps, such as DeepSeek and RedNote, have gained significant traction in the U.S. market.
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, recently unveiled its new AI model, DeepSeek-V3, which has drawn attention for its remarkable capabilities. The model is seen as a rival to leading American systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, despite being developed with a much smaller budget of around $5 to $6 million. This has raised concerns about the rapid advancements of Chinese tech in the global AI race.
RedNote, a Chinese social media app, has also seen a surge in popularity, particularly as some Americans look for alternatives to TikTok, whose future in the U.S. is uncertain. The app’s rising profile coincides with the ongoing legal and ethical complexities surrounding TikTok. A court order to force ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to divest from the app was initially set to take effect on January 19 but was temporarily halted after former President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing enforcement for 75 days.
The concern over Chinese applications extends beyond individual apps and touches on broader national security issues. The Congressional Research Service has published several reports examining the risks posed by Chinese technology, particularly the requirement that Chinese companies store personal data and share algorithms with the Chinese government under Chinese law. This has sparked fears about the potential for data harvesting and surveillance through Chinese-run platforms.
As the debate around the security implications of Chinese apps continues, Abbott's executive order is a clear signal of Texas's intention to limit the influence of Chinese tech within its borders, particularly when it comes to protecting state and federal infrastructure from foreign interference.
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