DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company, is raising the ire of regulators around the world. DeepSeek’s viral AI models and chatbot apps have been banned by a growing number of countries and government bodies, which have expressed concerns over DeepSeek’s ethics, privacy, and security practices.
Corporations have banned DeepSeek, too — by the hundreds. The biggest worry reportedly is potential data leakage to the Chinese government. According to DeepSeek’s privacy policy, the company stores all user data in China, where local laws mandate organizations to share data with intelligence officials upon request.
As the list of regions where DeepSeek’s apps are no longer available grows, we’ll continue updating this roundup. Also included: the public sector departments that have prohibited DeepSeek tech.
Italy
Italy became one of the first countries to ban DeepSeek following an investigation by the country’s privacy watchdog into DeepSeek’s handling of personal data.
In late January, Italy’s Data Protection Authority (DPA) launched an investigation into DeepSeek’s data collection practices and compliance with the GDPR, the EU law that governs how personal data is retained and processed in EU territories. The DPA gave DeepSeek 20 days to respond to questions about how and where the company stores user data and what it uses this data for.
DeepSeek claimed its apps didn’t fall under the jurisdiction of EU law. Italy’s DPA disagreed and took steps to remove DeepSeek’s apps from the Apple and Google app stores in Italy.
Taiwan
Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs said that DeepSeek “endangers national information security” and has banned government agencies from using the company’s AI.
In a statement, the Taiwan ministry said that public sector workers and critical infrastructure facilities run the risk of “cross-border transmission and information leakage” by using DeepSeek’s technology. The Taiwanese government’s ban applies to employees of government agencies as well as public schools and state-owned enterprises.
“DeepSeek AI service is a Chinese product,” the Ministry of Digital Affairs’ statement reads. “Its operation involves [several] information security concerns.”
U.S. Congress
U.S. congressional offices have reportedly been warned not to use DeepSeek tech.
The House’s chief administrative officer (CAO), which provides support services and business solutions to the House of Representatives, sent a notice to congressional offices indicating that DeepSeek’s technology is “under review,” Axios reported.
“[T]hreat actors are already exploiting DeepSeek to deliver malicious software and infect devices,” the notice said. “To mitigate these risks, the House has taken security measures to restrict DeepSeek’s functionality on all House-issued devices.”
According to Axios, the CAO has prohibited staffers from installing DeepSeek applications on any official smartphones, computers, or tablets.
Texas
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order banning software from DeepSeek and other Chinese companies from government-issued devices in the state.
In a statement, Abbott said that Texas “will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps. Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors.”
U.S. Navy
The U.S. Navy has instructed its members not to use DeepSeek apps or technology, according to CNBC.
In late January, the Navy sent an email prohibiting service members from using DeepSeek products “in any capacity” due to “potential security and ethical concerns associated with the [tech’s] origin[s] and usage.” A Navy spokesperson told CNBC the email was in reference to the Department of the Navy’s chief information officer’s generative AI policy and based on an advisory from the Navy’s cyber workforce manager.
In the email, the Navy said it’s “imperative” that members don’t use DeepSeek’s AI “for any work-related tasks or personal use,” and “refrain from downloading, installing, or using [DeepSeek AI].”
Pentagon
The Pentagon has blocked access to DeepSeek technologies, but not before some staff accessed them, Bloomberg reported.
The Defense Information Systems Agency, which is responsible for the Pentagon’s IT networks, moved to ban DeepSeek’s website in January, according to Bloomberg. The decision is said to have come after defense officials raised concerns that Pentagon workers were using DeepSeek’s applications without authorization.
Bloomberg notes that while the prohibition remains in place, Defense Department personnel can use DeepSeek’s AI through Ask Sage, an authorized platform that doesn’t directly connect to Chinese servers.
NASA
NASA has also banned employees from using DeepSeek tech. That’s according to CNBC, which obtained a memo from the agency’s chief AI officer informing personnel that DeepSeek’s servers operate outside the U.S., raising national security concerns.
“DeepSeek and its products and services are not authorized for use with NASA’s data and information or on government-issued devices and networks,” the memo said, per CNBC. “[Employees are not authorized to] access DeepSeek via NASA devices and agency-managed network connections.”
NASA has blocked use of DeepSeek apps on “agency-managed devices and networks,” CNBC reports.
TechCrunch has an AI-focused newsletter! Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.
