Canada Tells Ministries to Restrict Use of DeepSeek

 Canadian officials are recommending that all ministries ban the use of China's DeepSeek chatbot application on government-issued devices.

In a memo circulated to government departments, the country's chief information officer said it is recommended that use of DeepSeek on government-issued devices be restricted, citing "serious privacy concerns" associated with the collection and retention of personal information.

Departments "should consider blocking the application and website on their departmental network and devices," said the memo.

The memo's contents were earlier reported by the National Post newspaper.

DeepSeek, a disruptive new Chinese AI company, emerged seemingly out of nowhere last month. DeepSeek gave its models away, as open-source code, which helped make it immediately popular among consumers, businesses and developers.

In the U.S., lawmakers in Congress intend to introduce a bill Friday to ban DeepSeek's chatbot application from U.S. government-owned devices.

In 2023, Canada banned the TikTok app from government-issued devices, due to levels of risk and security posed by the China-backed digital platform.

https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202502077292/canada-tells-ministries-to-restrict-use-of-deepseek