Taiwan bans use of DeepSec in all government institutions

Last Updated on February 2, 2025 6:30 am

Taiwan has banned all government agencies from using Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSec, the ministry of digital affairs said in a statement on Friday. The ministry said DeepSec is a major threat to information security.

The Taiwanese government has always been wary of Chinese technology products. The main reason for this is that Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and is increasing military and political pressure against the autonomous region.

Taiwan’s digital ministry said in a statement that DeepSec’s AI service is a Chinese product that could pose a risk to international data transmission and information leakage. It is a threat to our national security and its use could pose a risk to our information security.

The ministry said it would closely monitor technological developments and make timely changes to data protection policies to ensure security.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Data Protection Authority announced on Friday that it would ask how DeepSec users’ personal information is being stored.

Chinese AI service DeepSec is being monitored not only by Taiwan but also by other European countries, including France, Italy and Ireland. They are investigating its policies on collecting and using user data.

Meanwhile, it has already established a strong position in the market. On Monday, DeepSec’s free AI assistant was downloaded more than its US rival ChatGPT on the Apple App Store.

Global investors have also sold off large chunks of US technology stocks, causing Nvidia to lose $593 billion in market value on Wall Street in a single day, the biggest daily loss ever for a single company.