Australia bans DeepSeek AI program on govt devices

Australia has banned Chinese chatbot DeepSeek from government devices. Photo / Getty Images

• Australia has banned DeepSeek from all government devices due to security risks posed by the AI program.
• The directive requires removal and prevention of DeepSeek products across Australian Government systems and devices.
• Countries including South Korea, Italy and France have also expressed concerns about DeepSeek’s data practices.

Australia has banned DeepSeek from all Government devices as it seeks to block “an unacceptable level of security risk” presented by China’s breakout artificial intelligence programme, according to an official order.

Developed by a China-based technology startup, the DeepSeek chatbot has astounded industry insiders and upended financial markets since it was released last month.

Countries including South Korea, Italy and France have expressed concerns about the programme’s security and data practices.

But Canberra’s move overnight appears to be the toughest by a government against the Chinese chatbot.

“After considering threat and risk analysis, I have determined that the use of DeepSeek products, applications and web services poses an unacceptable level of security risk to the Australian Government,” Department of Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster said in the directive.

As of Wednesday all non-corporate Commonwealth entities must “identify and remove all existing instances of DeepSeek products, applications and web services on all Australian Government systems and mobile devices,” she added.

The directive also required that “access, use or installation of DeepSeek products” be prevented across government systems and mobile devices.

The action is the latest by governments from around the world which have been turning a spotlight on the services of the Chinese startup.

DeepSeek raised alarms last month when it claimed its new R1 chatbot matches the capacity of artificial intelligence pace-setters in the US for a fraction of the cost.

It particularly has sent Silicon Valley into a frenzy, with some calling its high performance and supposed low cost a wake-up call for US developers. Some experts have accused DeepSeek of reverse-engineering the capabilities of leading US technology, such as the AI powering ChatGPT.

Several countries now including South Korea, Ireland, France, Australia and Italy have expressed concern about DeepSeek’s data practices, including how it handles personal data and what information is used to train DeepSeek’s AI system.

The New Zealand Government has not issued any guidance specific to DeepSeek, acting deputy chief digital officer Amy Allison said.

“The recently released DeepSeek AI-powered chatbot, like other chatbots available publicly, is a form of Generative AI, or GenAI. The Public Service AI Framework outlines expectations around the responsible use of AI, and applies to all forms of AI used in New Zealand public services. This includes the use of GenAI tools like DeepSeek,” Allison said.

The Public Service AI Famework offers a series of general guidelines fo the use of generative AI that is light on detail.

Tech and trade spats between China and Australia go back years, as the two Asian nations experienced their worst crisis in relations in decades.

In 2018 Australia banned Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from its national 5G network, citing national security concerns. New Zealand soon followed suit.

Beijing was enraged by Canberra’s Huawei decision, with its crackdown on Chinese foreign influence operations and a call for an investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A multi-billion-dollar trade war raged between Canberra and Beijing but eventually cooled late last year, when China lifted its final barrier, a ban on imports of Australian live rock lobsters.

– Agence France-Presse with NZME staff