The Czech Republic bans DeepSeek in state administration over cybersecurity concerns

The smartphone app DeepSeek page is seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

PRAGUE — The Czech Republic has banned the use of any products by the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek in state administration over cybersecurity concerns, authorities said Wednesday.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the government acted after receiving a warning from the national cybersecurity watchdog, which noted a threat of unauthorized access to users data because the firm is obliged to cooperate with Chinese state authorities.

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The move follows similar steps made by some other countries that aimed to protect users’ data, including Italy, which in January blocked access to the chatbot, and also Australia.

The Czech government in 2018 stopped using the hardware and software made by Chinese telecoms company Huawei and another Chinese telecommunications company, ZTE, after a warning they posed a security threat.

DeepSeek was founded in 2023 in Hangzhou, China, and released its first AI large language model later that year.