Tech Desk 
Feb 03, 2025
Deepseek and OpenAI logos are seen in this illustration taken January 27, 2025. — Reuters
Much to the dismay of the Chinese entrant in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI), Taiwan has prohibited DeepSeek from being used in government departments.
The ban, specifically applicable under the premises of government offices, appears to be a part of the serial crackdown on the recently released Chinese AI assistant which took the world by storm within days, leading to a colossal decline in the tech stocks globally.
Reuters reported that the ban was a follow up on last week's mild announcement discouraging the use of DeepSeek.
It should be noted that it has not been clarified by the Taiwanese government whether DeepSeek was banned in the country, however, all the government agencies are told not to use it.
Governed democratically, Taiwan has a history of being cautious when Chinese technology is in question, which is said to be driven by Beijing's vocal sovereignty claims over Taiwan and its military and political eyes set to take over the government in Taipei.
DeepSeek has been banned across government institutions "to ensure the country's information security", said Cho Jung-tai, the prime minister of Taiwan, according to a statement issued by his office.
Other serious concerns behind the so-called ban involved censorship of DeepSeek on national security grounds as well as the risk of users' personal data theft.
