US Congressional staff members are no longer allowed to use Microsoft’s Copilot on their government-issued devices due to security concerns surrounding the AI chatbot. The decision was made by the Office of Cybersecurity, citing the risk of leaking House data to unauthorized cloud services. While Congress personnel can still use Copilot on personal devices, it is now blocked on Windows devices owned by the Congress.
Last year, Congress imposed restrictions on the use of ChatGPT, a similar AI chatbot powered by OpenAI’s large language models. Only the paid version, ChatGPT Plus, was permitted on House computers for specific research purposes with stricter privacy controls. Recently, the White House introduced guidelines for federal agencies regarding generative AI tools to ensure the safety and rights of Americans.
Microsoft acknowledged the need for increased security measures for government users and has developed a roadmap of tools and services tailored for government use. This includes an Azure OpenAI service for classified workloads and an enhanced version of Microsoft 365’s Copilot assistant with enhanced security features to handle sensitive data. The government version of Copilot will be evaluated by Szpindor’s office before potentially allowing its use on House devices.
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