DeepSeek banned on some Canadian government devices over privacy fears [Video]

The Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot DeepSeek is being banned on some Canadian government mobile devices due to “serious privacy concerns” — and other departments are being urged to do the same.

An email from the Treasury Board Secretariat’s chief information officer Dominic Rochon shared with Global News says the concerns stem from DeepSeek’s “inappropriate” collection and retention of sensitive personal information.

It says the app has already been restricted from government mobile devices managed by Shared Services Canada (SSC), which delivers digital services to many government departments and teams.

“I encourage these organizations to work with SSC to further implement the restriction on all department-managed devices,” Rochon wrote in the email sent Thursday.

“Organizations not supported by SSC services should consider blocking the application and website on their departmental network and devices.”

The move is “a precautionary measure to protect government networks and data,” Rochon wrote.

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