Taiwan does not trust Chinese technology. The Asian country on Monday banned government departments from using the service of the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) platform DeepSeek due to being deemed "a security risk." Taiwanese Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai stated that the ban aims to "ensure the security of the country's information," as reported by the state news agency CNA.
"Considering the importance of protecting the internal information handled by government agencies, we have decided to completely prohibit the use of DeepSeek's AI services to ensure their security," Cho stated during a government meeting.
Cho pointed out that all AI applications should "be developed in accordance with the rule of law and a spirit of openness" and that "the DeepSeek AI service may have violated copyright law in the acquisition of data sources." "There are also data biases such as ideological censorship and restrictions in model training," he added.
Therefore, the Taiwanese Prime Minister specifically requested government agencies to "completely prohibit" the use of DeepSeek's AI services.
Last Friday, the Taiwan Ministry of Digital Affairs had stated that government departments should not use DeepSeek, but did not specify that it was prohibited.
In recent years, Taiwan has reported an increasing number of cyber attacks originating from China as well as a "cognitive warfare" campaign aimed at pressuring the Taipei government, currently led by the pro-independence leader William Lai.
DeepSeek has caused a significant stir in the global AI sector after the launch of its V3 model a few weeks ago, with claims that its development lasted only two months and cost less than 6 million dollars. On January 20, it released its latest version, named R1.
Launched in 2023 by the Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer Quant, DeepSeek advocates for open-source and offers services 95% cheaper than the o1 model of OpenAI.
However, the high attention it has attracted - becoming the top download for Apple devices in the United States - has also led to criticism, as its app refuses to comment on issues affected by censorship in China such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre or whether Taiwan is part of China.