US Congress bans staff from using Copilot fearing data leak

The US Congress has recently banned its staff members from using Microsoft’s AI chatbot, Copilot, on all government-issued Windows devices citing data leaks. Axios reported that it accessed guidance to congressional offices from House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor.

Congress bans Microsoft Copilot on all its Windows devices

The move from the US Congress to ban Copilot comes after the Office of Cybersecurity deemed Copilot a risk to users due to the threat of leaking House data to non-House-approved cloud services. The circular further mentions removing and banning Copilot from all House Windows devices. It is worth noting that the congress staff can still use Copilot on their own phones and laptops.  

Let’s not forget that a year ago, Congress also banned its staff from using ChatGPT. However, the imposed ban aimed at stopping the use of the free version of ChatGPT on House devices. The staff could still access the paid version aka ChatGPT Plus because of better privacy settings.

Regarding the Copilot ban, Microsoft says that a suite of tools is on the way for the government that hopefully addresses the concern of Congress. The tech giant is planning to roll out such tools this summer. 

Talking with Axios on the matter, a Microsoft spokesperson mentioned:

We recognize that government users have higher security requirements for data. That’s why we announced a roadmap of Microsoft AI tools, like Copilot, that meet federal government security and compliance requirements that we intend to deliver later this year.

Recently, the White House has also introduced different rules related to generative AI. The government says that federal agencies should follow the new rules to protect the rights and safety of Americans.

All in all, the fear of data leaks after using AI chatbots isn’t only haunting companies but the government too. What do you think about the US Congress’ move to ban staff use of Copilot? Share your thoughts with our readers in the comments below.