DeepSeek has caused both absolute delight among consumers and absolute terror among Governments.
The Chinese AI app had a meteoric climb up both the Google and Apple App store charts as consumers rushed to try out the new ChatGPT rival.
However, as a Chinese venture housing users’ data in China, it is absolutely setting off alarms for Governments concerned about national security, the potential for the spread of propaganda but also the impact of this far cheaper – and yet efficient – app on home-grown AI offerings. And some countries have already taken action.
Italy
The European country was the first to act on DeepSeek. At the end of January, the app became unavailable in both the Google and Apple app stores. The Italian Government announced that it was launching a data probe. The statement online says that the Italian authorities are asking for clarity on “which personal data is collected, from which sources, for which purposes, what is the basis legal nature of the processing, and whether it is stored on servers located in China.”
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US
New York State is the first State to ban the download of the DeepSeek app citing “serious concerns” about its “connection to foreign government surveillance and censorship, including how DeepSeek can be used to harvest user data and steal technology secrets.”
The US Navy had already asked its employees not to download and use the app, even for personal use. But Axios has the scoop that the DeepSeek app has now been blocked from all Senate devices. And there are two bills that could potentially be passed that will dramatically impact the use of DeepSeek – and in fact other Chinese AI offerings – in the US.
Congress is looking at a bipartisan bill that will ban DeepSeek on federal devices. The Wall Street Journal had the exclusive on this. However, Senator Josh Hawley is going for a full ban on Americans downloading the DeepSeek app (and other Chinese AI tools). It comes with the threat of jail time for citizens and huge fines for corporations who do not heed the ban.
Australia
Australia’s Government started by issuing statements of concern, but this has now moved to a blocking access to DeepSeek on all Government devices, reports Al Jazeera.
The statement from the secretary of the Department of Home Affairs told all government workers to “prevent the use or installation of DeepSeek products, applications and web services and where found remove all existing instances of DeepSeek products, applications and web services from all Australian Government systems and devices”.
Information Age adds that NBN Co, which operates the country’ national broadband network, the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC), and Australia Post have banned DeepSeek from their internal systems despite being exempt from the ban. ABC told staff in an email that it had “assessed the risks to privacy, security and data protection in the use of this service and are in agreement with the directive”.
South Korea
The ban was announced by the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and cited security concerns as the reason behind a temporary ban on the use of DeepSeek on employees’ devices. But, says Al Jazeera, the notice also warned about the use of AI programs in general. This decision comes after Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, which is run by the South Korean government, blocked access to all AI services – not just DeepSeek – for its employees.
Like Italy, the South Korean Government has written to DeepSeek to get more information about how the data collected from users is managed.
Taiwan
Considering Taiwan’s relationship with the Chinese Government, it comes as little surprise that its government has blocked its departments from using DeepSeek programmes.
Reuters reports that the ban came from Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs, which published concerns that it “endangers national information security”. Its statement reads: “DeepSeek AI service is a Chinese product. Its operation involves [several] information security concerns.”
The ban takes in all state-owned businesses and public schools.
More Countries Likely to Follow
There will be more Governments coming forward with plans over the coming weeks as they are galvanized by national security concerns and fears about foreign interference.
Authorities from the European Union are meeting today to specifically discuss DeepSeek. The meeting is being held by the Brussels-based European Data Protection Board and will see member countries share information and discuss what actions they have taken to date.
Ireland is reported to be one of the attendees and, like Italy, has also requested information from the Chinese venture about data usage.
The big question, though, is which country will be the first to enact a total ban of the app. In the US, there are movements in this direction but will consumers heed warnings in the meantime?
The popularity of TikTok, even as the social media platform headed for a ban and repeated warnings about it were issued, would suggest not. Enacting a ban on a national scale will take months, if not years, and in the meantime, many consumers are excited about this new AI toy and pushing any concerns aside as irrelevant to them.
