DeepSeek has been banned from all federal equipment in order to crack down on Chinese AI chatbots due to an unspecified national security risk.
Last week, DeepSeek’s AI Generative Chatbot was released, causing concern in US high-tech circles regarding censorship and data security.
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order on Tuesday prohibiting the use of the program on all federal government systems and national security devices based on intelligence agency advice.
The Minister of the Interior emphasized that the decision was based on protecting the government and its assets, not influenced by China as a country of origin.
Bark stated, “The Albanese government is taking swift and decisive actions to safeguard Australia’s national security and interests.”
He added, “AI presents potential and opportunities, but the government will not hesitate to act if national security risks are identified.”
It is advised that governments and organizations promptly report and remove the app from their devices to prevent reinstallation.
This decision comes nearly two years after the Albanese government banned the Chinese social media app TikTok across government devices citing security and privacy risks.
In January, Minister of Science Ed Hepsick anticipated a similar debate surrounding DeepSeek.
He stated, “I believe there will be parallels drawn naturally. There is a resemblance to the discussions seen around TikTok with regard to DeepSeek.”
Australia joins Taiwan, Italy, and some US states in blocking and banning apps on government devices.
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This week, the New South Wales state government has banned the application. Other state governments are also considering similar actions.
An analysis by Guardian Australia in January revealed that chatbots like DeepSeek have avoided discussing specific political events in the Chinese government.
In contrast to other models, DeepSeek did not engage in conversations about topics such as Tiananmen Square and The Umbrella Revolution when asked.
Immediately after its release in January, DeepSeek became popular in the global app store, causing a significant drop in a major US Tech Index.
Source: www.theguardian.com
