By Jiahui Huang
Australia has banned Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek from its government systems and devices, citing data-security concerns.
The Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs issued a statement Tuesday that requires all government entities to prevent the access, use or installation of DeepSeek products, applications and web services on Australian government systems and mobile devices. Government entities were also directed to remove existing use of the app.
"The use of DeepSeek products, applications and web services poses an unacceptable level of security risk to the Australian government," said Stephanie Foster, secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, in the statement.
DeepSeek is a Hangzhou-based startup owned by a Chinese hedge fund.
Australia isn't the first country to ban DeepSeek after the Chinese artificial intelligence app's sudden shot to fame in January, with its low-cost AI models rivaling American ones using less-advanced Nvidia chips. Italy's data protection authority issued a nationwide ban of DeepSeek in late January.
Although the U.S. hasn't formally banned DeepSeek, some federal agencies like the U.S. Navy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have blocked the app due to security and privacy concerns. Texas was the first U.S. state to ban DeepSeek on government devices, citing national-security concerns.
A bill proposed last week by Sen. Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) sought to bar Americans and U.S. companies from importing or exporting Chinese advancing AI technology, though it didn't mention DeepSeek by name.
President Trump has characterized DeepSeek's sudden rise a "wake-up call" for the U.S. tech industry.
Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-04-25 2325ET
