Tue, 04 Feb 2025

Australia bans DeepSeek on government devices over security risk

The Australian government says the Chinese AI app is a threat to it and its assets.
Australia's government has banned DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, from all government devices and systems due to concerns over national security. The ban, which was announced recently, requires government entities to remove any existing installations of DeepSeek products and prevent their use on any system or device. This move follows growing scrutiny of the company's data handling practices and its potential impact on user privacy. Regulators in several countries have begun investigating DeepSeek's data collection methods, which involve storing user information in servers in China. The ban does not apply to private citizens' devices, but it will affect a wide range of government workers, including those at institutions like the Australian Electoral Commission and Bureau of Meteorology. The decision reflects growing concerns among Western governments about Chinese tech companies and their potential security risks.
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