The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) on Friday said that public sector workers would be banned from using DeepSeek, a recently released Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) model, due to concerns over data leaks.
DeepSeek launched its R1 chatbot last month, claiming it matches the capacity of AI pacesetters in the US for a fraction of the investment.
Government agencies and critical infrastructure should not use DeepSeek, because it “endangers national information security,” MODA said in a news release on Friday.
Photo: Reuters
“DeepSeek AI service is a Chinese product,” the ministry said. “Its operation involves cross-border transmission, and information leakage and other information security concerns.”
MODA said the ban applies to employees of central and local government agencies, public schools, state-owned enterprises and other semi-official organizations, as well as those working on critical infrastructure projects and in government-endowed foundations, but did not elaborate on specifics or enforcement measures.
MODA cited the Principles on Restricting the Use of Products That Endanger National Cyber Security, a 2019 Executive Yuan regulation which prohibits government agencies from using computer and information communication technology products and services that might pose a national security risk.
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said DeepSeek is only the latest in a long list of Chinese applications, Web sites, technology and hardware banned from government use.
Taiwan is among the most exposed nations to the military and cybersecurity risks from China and should be as vigorous in confronting those threats as the US Navy, which has banned its personnel from using DeepSeek, he said.
Chinese telecoms, devices and hardware are banned from being connected to Taiwanese infrastructure due to concerns that they might contain spyware and backdoors, he said, adding that the US, European nations and India have discovered malicious Chinese codes.
Government offices and workers are prohibited from using DeepSeek, a rule that aims to protect national security and cybersecurity, he said, adding that people and private enterprises should also be mindful of the issue.
Government agencies should hasten to put into force a ban on high-risk tech products from China, including DeepSeek, TikTok and other software, hardware and device components, DPP Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said.
Taiwan should move faster than other nations in responding to DeepSeek, as the nation is more threatened by Beijing than others, he added.
Taiwan’s restriction came as data watchdogs in South Korea and Ireland said they would ask DeepSeek to clarify how it manages users’ personal information.
Other countries, including Australia, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US, have also raised questions about the Chinese AI start-up’s data practices.
US secretary of commerce-designate Howard Lutnick accused DeepSeek of stealing US technology including Nvidia chips and codes before calling for punitive tariffs.
“I think they [China] only care about themselves and seek to harm us, and so we need to protect ourselves,” he was cited by US newspaper The Hill as saying during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
US representatives John Moolenaar and Raja Krishnamoorthi, respectively chairman and ranking member of the US House of Representatives Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the US and the Chinese Communist Party, urged US President Donald Trump to tighten export restrictions on AI chips to China to counter DeepSeek’s rise.
Separately, the US Navy has forbidden service members from using the Chinese-developed AI model in any form.
British Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle has told Politico that London is conducting a national security risk assessment on the DeepSeek chatbot.
Meanwhile, Italian data protection agency Garante said it imposed restrictions on DeepSeek’s use of Italian nationals’ personal information and issued letters to the Chinese company’s offices to demand an explanation on how its algorithm obtains data.
DeepSeek has been removed from Google and Apple’s app stores in Italy.
Kyodo news agency has reported that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told the Japanese Diet that he is mulling a basic law on generative AI.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
RSS