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Taiwan has imposed a ban on the use of DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence service across all government departments, citing significant security risks associated with the Chinese-made technology.
The decision, announced by Taiwan premier Cho Jung-tai during a cabinet meeting, represents a strengthening of the government’s position after initially advising against the service’s use last week. The ban aims “to ensure the country’s information security,” according to a statement from the premier’s office.
Taiwan’s cautious approach stems from long-standing concerns about Chinese technology, particularly given Beijing’s territorial claims over the island and its continued military and political pressure on Taipei. The government specifically highlighted worries about censorship on DeepSeek and the risk of sensitive data being transferred to China.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs had previously warned that DeepSeek’s AI service posed information security risks, noting that “its operation involves cross-border transmission and information leakage and other information security concerns, and is a product that jeopardises the country’s information security.”
The ban comes amid growing international scrutiny of DeepSeek’s data practices, with privacy watchdogs in South Korea, France, Italy, and Ireland all launching investigations into how the company manages users’ personal information.
Despite these concerns, DeepSeek has seen significant commercial success, with its free AI assistant recently surpassing U.S. rival ChatGPT in downloads on Apple’s app store. This surge in popularity has had broader market implications, contributing to investors dumping US tech stocks, resulting in chipmaker Nvidia experiencing a record one-day market value loss of $593 billion for any company on Wall Street.
