Belgium bans DeepSeek from parliament over censorship and data security concerns
Belgium banned the Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek from its Federal Parliament and public administrations over concerns about government censorship and data privacy protection. The government opened a GDPR investigation into the platform and will reassess the ban once security concerns are clarified.
What happened
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot launched in late January 2025, was banned from Belgium's Federal Parliament and public administrations starting the week of 24 February 2025. The tool was blocked from the parliament's WiFi and wired internet connections.
Reported impact
The restriction applies to parliamentary staff and civil servants. Belgium has opened an investigation into DeepSeek for potential violations of EU data protection regulations.
Index analysis
Concerns centre on potential censorship by China's government integrated into the application, and questions about user privacy protections. The restriction will be reassessed once there is clarity on the platform's dangers.
Governance controls
Belgium joined other European countries in investigating DeepSeek over compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.