Taiwan Wary of DeepSeek App

Taiwan has banned people working in the public sector and in critical infrastructure from using China's DeepSeek app, saying it could endanger the island's security.

The DeepSeek app on a user's phone in Shanghai, China, in a photo taken on January 28 - Photo: AFP

According to AFP news agency, countries such as South Korea, Ireland, France, Australia and Italy are expressing doubts about DeepSeek's data processing activities.

Most recently on January 31, Taiwan's Digital Agency said that all government agencies and critical infrastructure facilities should not use DeepSeek, because the application "endangers information security" of Taiwan.

The agency pointed out: "The DeepSeek AI service is a product of China. DeepSeek's activities involve cross-border information transmission, information leakage and other information security concerns."

Since 2019, Taiwan has banned government agencies from using information and communications technology products and services that pose a threat to its "information security."

Within days, DeepSeek became the most downloaded app on Apple’s App Store, raising concerns about America’s leadership in AI and wiping out about $1 trillion in value from U.S. stocks. At one point, shares of Nvidia, a leading AI chipmaker, fell 17%.

On January 30, the US news site Axios reported that US Congressional offices had received warnings not to use China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence application, amid concerns that "threat actors have exploited DeepSeek to spread malware and infect devices".

On the same day, Italy's data protection authority Garante said it had blocked the Chinese AI model DeepSeek due to a lack of information about the company's use of personal data. Meanwhile, South Korea and Ireland said they would ask DeepSeek to clarify how it handles users' personal information.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dai-loan-canh-giac-voi-ung-dung-deepseek-20250201145307829.htm