On Monday, Taiwan escalated its stance by prohibiting government departments from utilizing the artificial intelligence service provided by the Chinese startup DeepSeek due to security concerns. Last week's advisory advising against its use was strengthened.
The democratic government of Taiwan has historically approached Chinese technology with caution, given Beijing's territorial claims and its threats to Taiwan's government.
During a cabinet meeting, Premier Cho Jung-tai stated that the ban of DeepSeek across all government agencies aims to safeguard the country's information security, according to a statement from his office. Concerns included potential censorship and the risk of data being transmitted to China.
While Taiwan's digital ministry's Friday directive discouraged the use of DeepSeek by government entities, it did not explicitly mention a ban.
Other countries including South Korea, France, Italy, and Ireland are also investigating DeepSeek's handling of personal data.