Australia warns of privacy risks from DeepSeek AI chatbot
Australia's Science Minister Ed Husic publicly warned about privacy and data management risks from DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot that became the most downloaded free app on Apple's App Store. The warning highlighted concerns that the app's privacy standards may not align with Western consumer expectations, as US authorities also began investigating potential national security implications.
What happened
Australian Science Minister Ed Husic raised concerns about data privacy and consumer trust regarding Chinese tech company DeepSeek on 28 January 2025, after the app became the most downloaded free app on Apple's iPhone App Store.
Husic stated there were "a lot of questions that will need to be answered in time on quality, consumer preferences, data, and privacy management" and highlighted differences in privacy standards between Chinese companies and Western counterparts.
Reported impact
Users in the UK and US showed no caution about the privacy concerns, with DeepSeek rocketing to the top of app stores and achieving 3 million downloads since launch, with 80% occurring in the past week.
Index analysis
Husic noted that while Chinese companies are skilled at developing products that work well in markets accustomed to their data and privacy approaches, the export of such products to markets where consumers have different privacy expectations raised questions about product adoption.
Governance controls
US officials raised questions about national security, with the White House National Security Council reportedly looking into potential national security implications, and the US Navy reportedly banned its members from using DeepSeek's apps citing "potential security and ethical concerns."
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.