Regulators from all across the world are now looking into DeepSeek, mere days after its chatbot app and AI models became popular.

Several countries have banned their government’s use of the AI app developed by the Chinese firm.

The DeepSeek app’s data collection methods have drawn criticism from privacy watchdogs in nations like Ireland, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Let’s take a closer look.

Countries banning DeepSeek

Italy

Italy was among the first nations to outlaw DeepSeek's AI last month.

According to reports, the AI chatbot app has been taken down from the nation’s app stores.

This happened a few days after the nation’s privacy watchdog sought information on the Chinese AI startup’s user data handling practices.

DeepSeek was given 20 days to respond to the notice.

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According to reports, a complaint filed by the consumer coalition group Euroconsumers prompted the Italian Data Protection Agency (DPA) to take action.

Taiwan

According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs, DeepSeek “endangers national information security”; hence, government agencies are not allowed to use the company’s AI.

Similarly, Taiwan’s state-owned businesses and public schools are also prohibited from using DeepSeek’s AI.

Australia

Due to security concerns, Australian government employees are not allowed to install or use DeepSeek’s AI app.

The Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs has directed to “prevent the use or installation of DeepSeek products, applications and web services from all Australian government systems and devices.”

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The ban does not apply to the country’s private citizens, as per Reuters.

India

The Finance Ministry asked employees to refrain from using any AI tools or applications on work-related devices since they might compromise the security of sensitive government data.

“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 (government) data and documents,” read an internal advisory issued by the ministry on January 29, as per Reuters.

In a recent communication, the Department of Expenditure stated that it has concluded that the confidentiality of government data and documents is at danger due to AI tools and apps in-office computers and smartphones.

A few AI tools were also mentioned in the communication.

US

According to a Bloomberg report, “hundreds of companies” have asked their corporate cybersecurity providers, including Netskope and Armis, to ban access to DeepSeek.

Some federal agencies in the US have also asked their employees not to use the app.

Members of the US Congress, the US Navy, the Pentagon, and the space research organisation NASA have been warned against using DeepSeek.

Likewise, the state of Texas has ordered that AI software created by DeepSeek and other Chinese companies not be used on government-issued devices.

South Korea

Security concerns have led the Industry Ministry of South Korea to temporarily prohibit government workers from using DeepSeek and ChatGPT.

The move is part of a larger government initiative that promotes caution when using generative AI services.

According to Reuters, which cited a government-issued notification, workers at ministries and agencies have been advised to exercise caution when utilising AI services like DeepSeek and ChatGPT at work.

Earlier this month, state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power banned the use of DeepSeek and other AI services.

According to reports, the Chinese AI startup’s access to computers linked to global networks has also been banned by the foreign ministry.

The information privacy watchdog in South Korea intends to formally investigate DeepSeek’s data processing procedures and user privacy management.

Government agencies are not the only ones who have concerns about DeepSeek.

According to a corporate official, IT giant Kakao Corp has also told its staff not to use DeepSeek due to security concerns.

The South Korean manufacturer of AI chips, SK Hynix, has limited access to generative AI services and only allows limited use as required.

Security concerns

While DeepSeek’s latest launch of AI models made headlines in the tech world, it also raised data security concerns.

The app’s privacy policy reads, “We store the information we collect in secure servers located in the People’s Republic of China.”

The main concern regarding DeepSeek is the possibility of sharing user data with the Chinese authorities.

Laws in the nation mandate that businesses provide information to local intelligence agencies upon request.

These issues might just pertain to DeepSeek’s AI application layer, though, as it is said that executing some of its AI models locally protects the company from obtaining private user information.

As a result, DeepSeek’s AI model will now be hosted on local servers by the Indian government.

“Data privacy issues regarding DeepSeek can be addressed by hosting open source models on Indian servers,” Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said.

With inputs from agencies