Taiwan Bans Government Use of DeepSeek AI Due to Security Concerns

Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs has banned government departments from using DeepSeek's artificial intelligence (AI) service, citing security risks associated with the Chinese origin of the product, Reuters reports.

The move, announced Friday, highlights Taiwan's ongoing concerns about Chinese technology firms amid Beijing's assertion of sovereignty over the island and its military and political threats toward the Taipei government.

In a statement, the ministry emphasized that the AI service's Chinese origins raise significant information security risks, encompassing cross-border data transmission, potential information leakage, and overall national security implications.

"DeepSeek’s AI service is a Chinese product, and its operation involves cross-border transmission and information leakage and other information security concerns, and is a product that jeopardises the country’s information security," the ministry stated.

The ministry further indicated that it will continuously monitor technological advancements and proactively adjust its information security policies to safeguard national security.

This move follows a similar action by South Korea's information privacy watchdog, which announced plans to question DeepSeek regarding its personal information management practices. Authorities in France, Italy, Ireland, and other nations are also investigating DeepSeek's handling of personal data.

The popularity of DeepSeek's AI assistant has surged, surpassing its US competitor ChatGPT in Apple's app store downloads by Monday. This rapid rise led to significant investor sell-offs in US tech stocks, resulting in a record one-day market value loss of $593 billion for chipmaker Nvidia.