Taiwan’s digital ministry said on Friday that government departments should not use Chinese startup DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence (AI) service, saying that as the product is from China it represents a security concern.
Democratically-governed Taiwan has long been wary of Chinese tech given Beijing’s sovereignty claims over the island and its military and political threats against the government in Taipei.
In a statement, Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs said that government departments are not allowed to use DeepSeek’s AI service to “prevent information security risks”.
“DeepSeek’s AI service is a Chinese product, and its operation involves cross-border transmission and information leakage and other information security concerns, and is a product that jeopardises the country’s information security,” the ministry said.