In a move to comply with Gov. Glenn Youngkin's Executive Order 46, the University announced Tuesday that it will ban the use of Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek AI on University devices and Wi-Fi networks. This move was announced in an email sent to the University community by Kenyon Bonner, vice president and chief Student Affairs officer.
Bonner said that students may continue to use DeepSeek on personal devices as long as they are not connected to University networks.
Youngkin's order, issued Feb. 11, was intended to protect the security of Virginian devices from the Chinese-owned platform. According to the order, DeepSeek has the capability to transmit user information to China Mobile, a telecommunications company owned by the Chinese government. The order also states that the platform turns off a feature on Apple devices that encrypts data, leaving devices vulnerable to security risks. The full text of Executive Order 46 can be found on the governor's website.
Youngkin banned DeepSeek from all "agencies, boards, commissions and institutions of higher education" on any devices owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia, which includes the University as a public institution.
This is not the first Chinese-owned platform to be banned by the Commonwealth after Executive Order 24 in December 2022 banned any applications owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which includes TikTok, from government devices or networks. The University complied with the order — eight months after Youngkin's order — by banning faculty from using ByteDance platforms on University devices and networks. That policy did not apply to students.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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