Canadian Government Bans Chinese AI DeepSeek from Their Devices

February 6, 2025 TruthUSA

Canada has prohibited the use of the Chinese artificial intelligence application DeepSeek on government devices due to “serious privacy concerns,” in line with similar measures taken by other allied nations.

Dominic Rochon, the Chief Information Officer of Canada, announced the ban on the Chinese chatbot in an email directive sent to federal departments on Feb. 6. He mentioned that Shared Services Canada, responsible for managing government IT infrastructure, has already implemented the ban.

“Due to serious privacy concerns related to the inappropriate collection and retention of sensitive personal information, and as a precautionary step to safeguard government networks and data, it is advised that departments and agencies restrict the use of the DeepSeek chatbot on government devices,” the email obtained by The Epoch Times stated.

Several other countries have either implemented or are considering similar restrictions on DeepSeek.

On Feb. 6, bipartisan legislation was introduced by U.S. lawmakers to prohibit the download and use of the Chinese app on government devices. Representatives Darin LaHood and Josh Gottheimer expressed concerns about DeepSeek’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“The national security threat posed by DeepSeek—an affiliate of the CCP—to the United States is concerning. DeepSeek’s AI program collects data from U.S. users and stores it for unidentified use by the CCP. We cannot allow a CCP company to access sensitive government or personal data under any circumstances,” LaHood stated in a press release.

Gottheimer remarked that the CCP has indicated its intention to use any means to undermine national security, spread harmful disinformation, and gather data on Americans.

On Feb. 4, Australia also banned the use of the Chinese application on government systems due to its “unacceptable risk to Australian government technology.” Additionally, Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai announced a ban on the Chinese application over national security concerns a day earlier.

Canada and its allies have taken steps to restrict other Chinese applications, such as TikTok, citing worries about data collection practices. These concerns are partly based on Chinese laws, like the National Intelligence Law of 2017, which mandates Chinese citizens and businesses to cooperate with state intelligence operations, including providing all data to the government.

DeepSeek’s privacy policy indicates that it may collect users’ information, date of birth, email addresses, and phone numbers, along with any data users provide during interactions with the AI, including audio and text. The chatbot also mentions that it could collect access tokens when logging into third-party services.

Critics of the Chinese government have raised concerns about DeepSeek potentially aiding in the CCP’s suppression of human rights and censorship.

Chinese-Canadian democracy activist Sheng Xue, based in Toronto, posed several questions to DeepSeek regarding her role as a rights advocate on social media. Initially, the program declined to answer, later stating that her advocacy conflicted with China’s “socialist values.” The chatbot also expressed allegiance to the CCP’s leadership.

Although the Chinese artificial intelligence company was established in 2023, the DeepSeek chatbot gained attention after the release of its latest model, DeepSeek R1, in January. The company claimed that the model rivaled the capabilities of ChatGPT, developed by the U.S. company OpenAI, but at a significantly lower cost.

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