DeepSeek, the Artificial Intelligence tool that shook the AI industry and was seen as an apparent Chinese answer to ChatGPT, came under the microscope as some governments and ministries banned the AI tool. Most of these countries which banned the use of this tool cited the risk of data transmission or data collection leading to security risks.
Security researchers and experts said that the web login page of DeepSeek’s chatbot contains heavily obfuscated computer script that when deciphered shows connections to computer infrastructure owned by China Mobile, a state-owned telecommunications company.
In its privacy policy, DeepSeek acknowledged storing data on servers inside the People’s Republic of China. But it’s chatbot appears more directly tied to the Chinese state than previously known through the link revealed by researchers to China Mobile.
Here’s a list of countries that have restricted or banned the use of DeepSeek:
India: The Finance Ministry has directed its officers not to download or use AI tools and apps such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek in office computers and devices, saying they pose confidentiality risks to data and documents.
“It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek etc) in the office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of Govt, data and documents,” the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry said in a note on January 29.
South Korea: South Korea’s defence ministry on Thursday said that it had blocked DeepSeek from accessing its internet-connected military computers.
Italy: Italy became the first country in the world to ban the DeepSeek AI, doing it in January. The Chinese AI platform has been removed from app stores in the European country.
The ban was imposed after Italy’s privacy watchdog, the Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA), asked the startup to give information on how they handle user data.
Taiwan: Although Taiwan has not yet prohibited its citizens from using the Chinese AI chatbot, it has implemented strict regulations. The country has banned DeepSeek AI from being used across all public sector organizations, including public schools, state-owned enterprises, and critical infrastructure.
Australia: The country has banned DeepSeek AI from all government devices. “After considering threat and risk analysis, I have determined that the use of DeepSeek products, applications and web services poses an unacceptable level of security risk to the Australian Government,” Tony Burke, home affairs secretary said in a statement.
United States: DeepSeek’s use has been restricted by the American navy for any work-related tasks or personal use. Texas was the first state to ban the Chinese AI citing that the app could be used for “infiltration” and “data harvesting”.
