Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a ban on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and social media apps affiliated with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on devices issued by the state government.
“Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps,” said Gov. Abbott.
“To achieve that mission, I ordered Texas state agencies to ban Chinese government-based AI and social media apps from all state-issued devices,” the governor said. “State agencies and employees responsible for handling critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and personal information must be protected from malicious espionage operations by the Chinese Communist Party. Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors.”
Gov. Abbott also ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Department of Information Resources to add the following technologies to the state’s prohibited technologies list. The list prohibits state employees and contractors from downloading and using included apps on state-owned or personal devices used for work:
- RedNote
- DeepSeek
- Webull
- Tiger Brokers
- Moomoo
- Lemon8
The governor has already ordered all Texas state agencies to ban the use of TikTok on any government-issued devices.
The latest order comes two months after Gov. Abbott issued four directives to Texas state agencies with the similar goal of protecting Texans from PRC and CCP tech influence. The governor:
- Directed all state agencies and public institutions of higher education to harden state systems and safeguard critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and personal information from being accessed.
- Directed DPS to target and arrest any criminals executing CCP influence operations like “Operation Fox Hunt” to forcibly return dissidents to China.
- Directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Public Utility Commission of Texas to prepare for potential threats against Texas’ critical infrastructure.
- Directed Texas state agencies to fully divest from China.
