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.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from
RSS