Australia bans the use of DeepSeek AI on government devices
The tool is under investigation due to its privacy policy and data collection, which is stored on servers located in China, exposed to the control of the Communist Party.
DeepSeek on a mobile device
Australia banned the use of the Chinese artificial intelligence program DeepSeek from all government devices, citing the "security risks" posed by the app, a directive from the Department of Home Affairs said Tuesday.
"After analyzing the threats and risks, we have determined that the use of DeepSeek products, applications and web services, pose an unacceptable level of security risks to the Australian government," Department of Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster said in a directive.
As of Feb. 4, 2025, DeepSeek products must be "removed" from all systems and mobile devices belonging to the Australian Government, the department stated in an order.
Several countries including South Korea, Ireland, France and Italy expressed concerns about DeepSeek's data protection practices and what information is used to train the AI system.
In a similar gesture, the US Congress also banned its staff from using DeepSeek. According to a report by Axios, staff are prohibited from installing the chatbot on any official phone, computer or tablet.
China censorship and control
The main danger for users lies in the same condition that affects the social network TikTok and led to litigation between its management and the US government. The servers that host all the information running through DeepSeek are physically located in China and operated by Chinese companies.
Any company with servers in China, such as DeepSeek, is legally obligated to provide access to stored data if the Chinese authorities require it. There is no possibility of refusing these requests, which poses a high risk of government control and censorship.
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