Chinese AI company DeepSeek’s products will be banned on government devices over national security concerns.
Australia has become one of the first countries to limit official access to DeepSeek, following Italy.
The Government said DeepSeek poses an “unacceptable risk” to official technology and networks.
It follows a similarand tablets in 2023.
Deepseek
was founded by Chinese hedge fund manager Liang Wenfeng in July 2023.
Recently, it has released two AI models: Deepseek V3 and R1.
V3 powers DeepSeek’s AI chatbot, available as an app, while R1 is a ‘reasoning’ model capable of more complex ‘thinking’ to solve problems.
Government ban
Following advice from the Home Affairs Department, the Government has banned DeepSeek on official phones and tablets, effective immediately.
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The ban requires employees in Government departments and politicians’ offices to delete all DeepSeek products, including R1 and V3.
Employees then need to confirm to Home Affairs that DeepSeek is not on their devices.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the measure will “protect Australia’s national security and national interest”.
“AI is a technology full of potential and opportunity — but the Government will not hesitate to act when our agencies identify a national security risk.”
Taiwan has also barred government workers from using DeepSeek. China has repeatedly claimed sovereignty over the self-governing island.
TikTok
The Government has previously rolled out a similar ban for TikTok on government devices.
TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. Its executives have consistently denied any data-sharing with the Chinese Government.
Burke said Australia is “country-agnostic” when assessing security threats.
