The much-hyped R1 language model from DeepSeek, and the chatbot based on it, are causing not only stock market tremors but also concerns among various governments. Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs announced on Friday, according to consistent agency reports, that all government agencies and critical infrastructures of the island state should not use the AI system. The reason is that it endangers “national information security.”
DeepSeek’s service is a Chinese product, the ministry explained. Its operation involves cross-border data transmission and potential information leaks. There are also significant concerns about IT security and user privacy protection, especially after a leak. Since 2019, there has been a ban in Taiwan for official bodies to use information and communication technology products and services that pose a threat to national information security. The government in Taipei has long accused Beijing of hybrid attacks, including cyberattacks and propaganda campaigns, that remain just below the threshold of open warfare.
Other countries like Germany, Italy, South Korea, Ireland, France, Australia, and the USA are also increasingly skeptical of DeepSeek. The Italian data protection authority, Garante, ordered a national ban on the chatbot on Thursday. It strongly urged the Chinese companies Hangzhou and Beijing DeepSeek, who operate the service, to immediately stop processing Italian users’ data.
The Garante justified the order by stating that DeepSeek’s responses to its data protection inquiries were “completely unsatisfactory.” The companies claimed “they do not operate in Italy and that European legislation does not apply to them.” The regulatory body, which also initially acted against OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has launched an official investigation. German data protection officials also plan to scrutinize DeepSeek. They criticize that the operator grants extensive access to IP addresses, chat histories, uploaded files, and even patterns and rhythms of keystrokes.
In its privacy policy, DeepSeek does not hide that it stores user data on Chinese servers and processes it according to national law, which requires cooperation with the country’s intelligence services. This did not stop employees of the US Department of Defense from trying the service from their work computers for at least two days, reports Bloomberg. The Pentagon has since begun blocking DeepSeek in parts of its network.
The US Navy already banned its employees from accessing R1 on January 24, citing security and ethical concerns, according to CNBC. The US government is still evaluating the potential impact of the growing interest in the Chinese service on national security.
