Chatbot Threating National Security? Why Countries Are Banning DeepSeek AI

Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek upended the global industry and wiped billions of US tech stocks when it unveiled its R1 programme, which it claims was built on cheap, less sophisticated Nvidia semiconductors.

But now governments from Washington to Seoul are scrambling to ban the user-friendly Chinese app from official devices, saying they need to prevent potential leaks of sensitive information through generative AI services.

AFP takes a look at what's going on:

Who has banned DeepSeek? 

First to act was Rome, which launched an investigation into DeepSeek and said it was blocking the upstart Chinese app from possessing Italian users' data. Italy's Data Protection Authority briefly blocked ChatGPT in 2023. 

Next, Taiwan banned workers in the public sector and at key infrastructure facilities from using DeepSeek, saying it was a Chinese product and could endanger national security, with Australia following suit days after. 

South Korean ministries -- including defence and unification, which oversees ties with the nuclear-armed North -- and the country's police force all banned the app from military and work computers, citing security risks.

US lawmakers also moved to introduce a "No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act", with Congressman Darin LaHood saying the national security threat that "Chinese Communist Party-affiliated company" DeepSeek posed to the United States was "alarming". 

Why are they worried?

In the terms and conditions of DeepSeek, there is a section on the provision of personal data to third parties -- very similar to that used by OpenAI's Chat GPT.

But while US companies typically resist government requests for data, "in China when the government requests access, companies are legally obligated to provide user data," said Youm Heung-youl, a data security professor at Soonchunhyang University.

"This distinction between respecting user privacy and providing government access often shapes how countries perceive trust in companies." 

According to DeepSeek's privacy policy, it also collects information on "key stroke patterns or rhythms" which detect keyboard patterns of how an individual interacts with each button.  

Beijing, for its part, says the Chinese government "will never require enterprises or individuals to illegally collect or store data".

It claims the restrictions do not reflect legitimate national security concerns but highlight "the politicisation of economic, trade and technological issues," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

Is this justified?

After Washington expressed concerns about DeepSeek, the move by South Korea to restrict it reflects "both genuine concerns and their knee-jerk reflective response to follow the US line," said Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korea studies at the University of Oslo.

US security ally South Korea "can't operate alone in a situation of large-scale warfare. So they are more or less expected to follow US military's cybersecurity guidelines," he said.

But in fairness to Beijing and DeepSeek, "no big tech company is politically neutral", he said. 

"Google stores the historical search information and it is naive to think that it is not shared with governmental agencies when requested," he said, although adding that in China the big tech cooperation with authorities was likely "more extensive."

DeepSeek "have a policy of aligning with the core values of socialism" Isabel Hou, Taiwanese AI expert and secretary-general of Taiwan AI Academy told AFP.

For example, sensitive enquiries about Tiananmen Square or Taiwanese statehood - which would typically be censored in China - should be possible on DeepSeek elsewhere.

"But we find that DeepSeek actually uses the same set of rules when providing services overseas," Hou added.

Is this unexpected? 

"DeepSeek was launched in May of 2023, and something like this can't just emerge overnight," Park Seung-chan, Chinese studies professor at Yongin University told AFP.  

Experts point to the enormous amount of research and development (R&D) China has poured into companies in recent years.

According to data from the Korea Chamber of Commerce, China ranked second among the world's top R&D investors, following the US, but showed the most significant growth, with its investment volume soaring more than 11-fold over the past decade.

"I see this (the release of R1) as a calculated move that was prepared before the Trump era, and we should pay attention to the second and third waves of DeepSeek," said Park.

What next?

DeepSeek says it uses less-advanced H800 chips -- permitted for sale to China until 2023 under US export controls -- to power its large learning model. 

While semiconductor exporting powerhouses South Korea and Taiwan have been thriving on sales of cutting-edge chips, DeepSeek has thrown the industry into turmoil.

"If DeepSeek really used H800, it means that even without cutting-edge semiconductors, similar outcomes could be achieved with general semiconductors, as long as the software is good," Park Ki-soon, a professor of Chinese economics at Sungkyunkwan University told AFP.  

"Countries like the US and China are investing massive amounts of talent and resources into software development," he said adding that DeepSeek showed governments like in Seoul needed to boost this further and "provide support to foster this growth."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)