Hundreds of companies block Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek over data security concerns
Companies and government agencies worldwide blocked access to the Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek within days of its popularity surge, citing concerns about potential data leakage to the Chinese government and weak privacy protections. Researchers discovered a publicly accessible database containing internal DeepSeek data including chat history and technical logs.
What happened
Companies and government agencies around the world began blocking access to DeepSeek's AI chatbot within days of its rapid rise to prominence in late January 2025, citing concerns about potential data leakage to the Chinese government.
According to cybersecurity firm Armis, roughly 70 per cent of its customers have requested blocks on DeepSeek, and 52 per cent of Netskope clients are blocking access entirely.
DeepSeek's privacy policy states that it collects users' keystrokes, text and audio input, uploaded files, feedback, chat history and other content for training its AI models, and may share that information with law enforcement and public authorities at its discretion. The company also states in its privacy terms that data is collected and stored in servers in China, with disputes governed by Chinese government law.
Reported impact
Hundreds of companies, particularly those associated with governments, implemented blocks due to concerns about weak privacy safeguards and potential data leakage to the Chinese government.
Index analysis
Cyber researchers from Wiz discovered a publicly accessible database belonging to DeepSeek that contained internal data, including some chat history, backend details and technical log data. DeepSeek secured the information when the discovery was reported.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.