Australia Bans the Use of Deepseek AI Program on Govt Phones

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Deepseek ai

Deepseek ai

According to an official order issued on Tuesday, Australia has prohibited the use of DeepSeek on all government devices in an effort to prevent “an unacceptable level of security risk” posed by China’s emerging artificial intelligence program.

The DeepSeek chatbot, created by a tech startup based in China, has amazed industry experts and disrupted financial markets since its launch last month.

Countries such as South Korea, Italy, and France have voiced concerns regarding the program’s security and data practices. However, Canberra’s action overnight seems to be the most severe measure taken by a government against the Chinese chatbot.

This action represents the most recent step taken by governments worldwide to scrutinize the offerings of the Chinese startup.

After considering threat and risk analysis, I have determined that the use of DeepSeek products, applications and web services poses an unacceptable level of security risk to the Australian Government,” Department of Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster said in the directive.

As of Wednesday all non-corporate Commonwealth entities must “identify and remove all existing instances of DeepSeek products, applications and web services on all Australian Government systems and mobile devices,” she added.

Furthermore, the directive mandated that “access, use or installation of DeepSeek products” be blocked on mobile devices and government systems.

This action represents the most recent step taken by governments worldwide to scrutinize the offerings of the Chinese startup.

Last month, DeepSeek raised concerns by asserting that its new R1 chatbot has capabilities comparable to those of leading U.S. artificial intelligence systems, but at a significantly lower cost.

It has especially triggered a frenzy in Silicon Valley, where some are dubbing its impressive performance and alleged affordability a wake-up call for developers in the US. Certain specialists have alleged that DeepSeek has engaged in reverse engineering of the functionalities of top US technologies, including the AI behind ChatGPT.

A number of nations, such as South Korea, Ireland, France, Australia, and Italy, have voiced worries regarding DeepSeek’s data practices. This includes concerns about its management of personal data and the sources of information used to train DeepSeek’s AI system.

China and Australia have been embroiled in tech and trade disputes for several years, with the two Asian countries experiencing their most severe diplomatic crisis in decades. Australia prohibited Chinese telecoms behemoth Huawei from its national 5G network in 2018, referencing concerns over national security.

Beijing was furious about Canberra’s decision regarding Huawei, its enforcement against Chinese foreign influence operations, and its demand for an inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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