This week, government agencies in countries including South Korea and Australia are blocking access to China’s new AI chatbot programme, primarily for government officials.
Media reports say other countries, including the US, could also try to block DeepSeek from government officials’ mobile devices. All cites “security concerns” about Chinese technology and the lack of clarity about how users’ personal information is processed by operators.
Last month, Deepseek made headlines after the US tech company’s stock price plunged after it allegedly cost a small portion of the money it spent on its AI program to build. The news caused social media users to joke. “I can’t believe ChatGpt has lost his job to AI.”
There are things we know about Deepseek and why the state bans it.
What is Deepseek?
Deepseek is a Chinese AI startup. It was founded in 2023 by entrepreneur and businessman Liang Feng, based in Hangzhou. Liang also founded two university classmates in 2016 and a $700 million hedge fund group Highflyer.
In January, Deepseek released the latest model in the program, the Deepseek R1, a free, AI-powered chatbot with a look and feel that looks very similar to the California-owned Openai-owned ChatGpt .
AI Chatbot is a computer program that simulates human-style conversations with users. Users are able to ask bot questions and are “trained” using information they can access on the internet to generate conversational responses.
Among many potential uses, these programs can be used to solve mathematical problems, draft text such as emails and documents, and translation or writing code.
How does DeepSeek differ from ChatGPT and other similar programs?
For one, according to the developers, it’s much cheaper to build.
Deepseek sent ShockWaves throughout the AI circle. When the company said in December it would “train” its latest model that curates and enters the information it needs to answer questions, it said it would require less than $6 million in computing power. Nvidia H800 chip.
This is just a small portion of the multi-billion-dollar AI budget enjoyed by US tech giants, such as ChatGPT’s Openai and Gemini’s US-owned Google. Openai CEO Sam Altman said Openai’s latest program, GPT-4, costs more than $100 million to train.
The new Deepseek program was made public on January 20th. By January 27th, Deepseek’s app had already reached the top of Apple’s App Store charts. As a result, the US multinational NVIDIA, which has a near definition of the production of AI semiconductors, lost nearly $600 million in market capitalization when its share price fell 17%.
Which countries ban Deepseek’s AI programs?
Some government agencies in some countries have banned or enacted AI software for their employees. These include:
US
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that US lawmakers are planning to introduce government bills to block deep seeking from government-owned devices.
On January 31st, US Space Agency NASA blocked DeepSeek from its systems and employee devices. A week ago, the US Navy warned members in an email regarding their use of DeepSeek due to “potential security and ethical concerns related to the origin and use of the model,” CNBC reported.
South Korea
A spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced Wednesday that the Ministry of Industry has temporarily banned deep seeking employees’ devices, citing security concerns.
Officials said on Tuesday the government urged ministries and agencies to be careful about using AI programs in general, including ChatGpt and Deepseek.
This is the Privacy Watchdog, the Personal Information Protection Commission, announced on January 31 that it will send a written request to DeepSeek for details on how users will manage their personal information.
South Korea’s hydroelectric and nuclear power generation, run by the South Korean government, said last month it blocked the use of AI services on workers’ devices, including DeepSeek.
Australia
The Australian government announced Tuesday that it had blocked access to DeepSeek for all government equipment, claiming it had a “security risk.”
The ban was mandated for all government agencies in a statement Tuesday by the Secretary of the Interior. The statement states that all government agencies will “prevent the use or installation of DeepSeek products, applications, and web services, and remove all existing instances of DeepSeek products, applications, and web services from all Australian government systems and devices. I gave the instructions where I found out.
Home Minister Tony Burke said the ban was “to protect Australia’s national security and national interests,” Australian media reported.
Italy
On January 30th, the Italian Data Protection Agency (Garante) reported that DeepSeek “Regarding the Processing of Italian User Data due to lack of information on how DeepSeek uses the personal data provided by users.” We have announced that we have ordered “limits.”
Two days ago, Galante announced that it was seeking responses on how users’ data are being stored and processed by Chinese startups.
Taiwan
On Monday, Taiwan also denounced the government department from using the DeepSeek program, and denounced security risks.
Why have some countries banned the use of Deepseek?
Most countries blocking the Deepseek program say they are concerned about the security risks posed by Chinese applications. They also say they do not have enough information about how users’ personal data is stored or used by groups.
According to DeepSeek’s Privacy Policy, we collect the following data from users:
Personal information including email, phone number, password and date of birth. These are used to register with the application. Application chat history. Contains text or audio that users enter into the chatbot. Technical information about your device and network, including IP addresses, keystroke patterns, and operating systems.
We share this information with our service providers and advertising partners. This information is kept “as needed,” the company’s website says.
According to ChatGPT’s Privacy Policy, Openai also collects personal information such as name and contact information given during registration, device information such as IP addresses, and device information such as “as long as necessary.” This information may be shared with Openai affiliates.
On Wednesday, ABC News was CEO of Ontario cybersecurity firm Feroot Security, which claims Deepseek “hides the code in programming that incorporates the ability to send user data directly to the Chinese government.” I quoted a report from one Ivan Tsarynny. ”.
Tsarynny told ABC that the DeepSeek application can send user data to “CMPassport.com, the online registry of China Mobile, a telecommunications company owned and operated by the Chinese government.” Al Jazeera was unable to independently test this claim.
Is this a rare exercise?
Eddie Borges Lee, a resident associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera, “Nearly every major tech company is making some use of user data, from meta to Google to opening.” Ta.
“They use data for targeted advertising, algorithm improvements, and AI training. Many are fined or investigated for privacy violations, but are somewhat regulated within jurisdictions like the EU and the US. , they continue to operate,” he added.
Borges-Rey explained that Chinese platforms such as Deepseek are “treated differently by the West because they theoretically allow state access to corporate data (such as the National Intelligence Act). ) is considered to be operating under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government that possesses the “.
He added: “The Western government fears that user data collected by Chinese platforms can be used for spying, influence or surveillance. Whether this is actually happening is debate, but it is merely possible. It is sufficient to justify the ban from a national security standpoint.”
In contrast, Western applications are not recognized as a national security threat by Western governments. “West companies are often considered problematic, and can be amended through regulations, while Chinese companies are seen as a direct security threat that requires a ban.”
In 2023, CHATGPT raised concerns that it had violated the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). On April 1st, Italy temporarily blocked services for all users in the country. On April 28, 2023, ChatGpt was restored in Italy, and Openai said it had “addressed or revealed” the issues raised by Garante. Galante told the BBC “We welcomed the measures implemented by Openai.”
Are there any concerns about using AI beyond security?
In addition to security and privacy concerns, there are other concerns regarding the use of chatbots in workplaces and academic settings, says Nayanaplakash, a researcher at the International Security Programme at London-based Chatham House. “From fear of bias to copyright infringement and the impact of LLMS (large language model) on many forms of original content.”
China is blocking access to Western technology companies, including X, Facebook and even ChatGPT for all users across the country.
