Komputer JaduL-, DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence (AI) from China, is still in the spotlight, especially regarding security. Currently, more and more countries are banning the download and use of DeepSeek, because it is considered a risk to user data security. South Korea is the latest country to restrict the use of DeepSeek, following Taiwan, Australia, and several states in the United States. Here is a list of countries that have so far banned DeepSeek.
List of countries that have banned DeepSeek:
1. South Korea
The latest country to ban DeepSeek is South Korea. Last Saturday (2/16/2025), the South Korean government restricted the download of the DeepSeek application from the application store in its country. This restriction is temporary, while waiting for the results of an assessment of how the Chinese company processes user data.
The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said that DeepSeek will be available for download again after the application is declared to comply with Korean privacy laws and makes the necessary changes.
This rule only affects the availability of DeepSeek in the application store. Meanwhile, users who have already used DeepSeek can still access it. However, the government "strongly recommends" users who are still using DeepSeek to avoid entering personal data, until a decision on DeepSeek is made. Currently, the South Korean government has contacted DeepSeek to evaluate it. Summarized by Komputer JaduL from media sources, Wednesday (2/19/2025), PICC said that the results of the assessment found that DeepSeek transferred South Korean user data to ByteDance, TikTok's parent company.
So far, DeepSeek has not responded. DeepSeek is said to have appointed a representative in Seoul and said it will work with the South Korean government during the evaluation process.
2. Taiwan
Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs announced a ban on the use of DeepSeek in government agencies and the infrastructure sector. This decision was taken to protect the country's data privacy and information security. The Taiwanese government is concerned that DeepSeek could access and transfer sensitive data to servers in China, which operate under local government regulations.
3. Italy Italy
became one of the first countries to ban the use of DeepSeek. The Italian Data Protection Agency, Garante, officially blocked the application after finding out that there were serious risks related to the security of user privacy. DeepSeek is considered not to meet the European Union's data protection standards (GDPR), especially in terms of transparency and management of user data. This ban confirms Italy's commitment to protecting the security of its citizens' information from potential misuse of AI.
4. United States
A number of government agencies and institutions in the United States have also banned and restricted their members from using DeepSeek. As reported by TechCrunch, the U.S. Congress's Chief Administrative Office (CAO) prohibits its staff from installing the application on official government-issued phones, computers, or tablets. Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that this policy aims to protect Texas' infrastructure from potential cybersecurity threats from the Chinese government.
This ban also applies to the US Defense Agency (Pentagon), Navy, and NASA. Most recently, the US federal government has even begun drafting a Bill (RUU) that will strictly prohibit the use of DeepSeek by its citizens. Those who prohibit it will later be threatened with imprisonment and fines, both individuals and corporations.
5. Australia Australia
also banned the use of DeepSeek, especially on government devices and systems. The reason is similar to several other countries, namely the security threat. Reporting from ABC News, all government agencies, except corporate organizations such as Australia Post and ABC, will be required to remove all DeepSeek products from their devices as soon as possible.
They must also block access to DeepSeek products and report back to the government after implementing these provisions. However, government employees are still allowed to use DeepSeek on their personal devices. Likewise, other Australian citizens are still allowed to access DeepSeek on their personal devices. The Australian government said this policy was made on the advice of the national security and intelligence agency which determined that DeepSeek posed a security risk to Australian Government technology.
According to Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, the limited blocking of DeepSeek was not due to the country of origin of the device manufacturer, but rather concerns about security risks. "AI is a technology full of potential and opportunity, but the government will not hesitate to act when our agencies identify a national security risk," Burke said on Tuesday (4/2/2025).
Other countries are skeptical
In addition to Taiwan, Italy, the United States, Australia, and South Korea, several other countries have also taken firm steps against the use of DeepSeek.
Several other European countries, such as Germany and France, are currently reviewing the risks of this AI to the GDPR data protection regulation. Both countries want to ensure that the technology does not violate the strict privacy policies of the European Union. A similar situation is also happening in Asia. Japan is not sitting idly by. Its government is currently monitoring the impact of DeepSeek on data protection, worried about the potential for sensitive information leaks in the future. India also gave a slow response. This country is reviewing the possibility of a ban, given its track record of also blocking a number of applications from China for security reasons.
DeepSeek has become popular since its release in January 2025. The mobile version of the application even ranked at the top as the most downloaded application on the App Store and Google Play Store in the United States (US). Basically, DeepSeek is not much different from other AI chatbots. For example, ChatGPT from OpenAI, Gemini from Google, or Claude from Anthropic. This AI is designed to understand and respond to various commands from its users. However, DeepSeek is claimed to be much 'smarter' than its competitors, and its subscription fees are also cheaper.
Through high-level artificial intelligence technology, this model is able to process information faster and more efficiently. However, behind its impressive capabilities, concerns have arisen regarding how this AI manages user data. DeepSeek is said to be able to collect various sensitive information. Starting from IP addresses, conversation history, uploaded files, to user keyboard activity. According to a report quoted from Gizchina, the data is stored on servers operating under Chinese government regulations.
This raises global concerns regarding the potential for unauthorized surveillance and the increased risk of data leaks.
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