Taiwan has officially prohibited its public officials and critical infrastructure from using applications developed by the Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek, citing concerns over "national information security."
"DeepSeek's AI service is a Chinese product," Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs stated. "Its operations involve cross-border transmissions, data leaks, and other security concerns," the ministry added.
While it can be problematic to rely entirely on any sort of AI-based service, the Chinese-made one in particular stands out in Taiwan, as relations have been tense.
This ban follows an American notion to do the same.
National Security Is The Concern
Taiwan has officially prohibited its public officials and critical infrastructure from using applications developed by the Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek, citing concerns over "national information security."
"DeepSeek's AI service is a Chinese product," Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs stated. "Its operations involve cross-border transmissions, data leaks, and other security concerns," the ministry added.
DeepSeek made waves in the AI community when it launched its chatbot, R1, online in January, positioning itself as a serious competitor to U.S. tech giants—despite reportedly operating at a fraction of their costs.
However, the tool quickly raised red flags among regulators in South Korea, Italy, France, and Ireland (which oversees several major tech companies on behalf of the European Union). Authorities in these countries requested details on how DeepSeek manages user data.
Since 2019, Taiwanese officials have been prohibited from using IT and communication products deemed a risk to "national information security."
Taipei has long accused Beijing of engaging in "gray zone" tactics—a term in international relations referring to hostile actions, such as cyberattacks, that fall short of outright warfare.
The Chinese government continues to assert sovereignty over Taiwan.
DeepSeek's AI assistant, which is available for free download in the U.S., directly competes with products like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
The app quickly surged to the top of the Apple App Store, surpassing ChatGPT earlier in the week and maintaining its lead through Friday.
DeepSeek's rapid rise has shaken U.S. financial markets, particularly impacting semiconductor giants Nvidia and Broadcom.
Both companies have seen their stock prices soar thanks to the demand for advanced processors used in AI models.
However, DeepSeek’s emergence as a powerful competitor has added new volatility to the sector.
