Microsoft Bans DeepSeek Over Data and Propaganda Risks
Microsoft President Brad Smith announced on May 8, 2025 during a U.S. Senate hearing that the company has banned employees from using DeepSeek's AI applications and blocked them from its app store due to concerns about personal data being sent to China and content with Chinese propaganda tendencies.
What happened
Microsoft President Brad Smith stated on May 8, 2025 during a U.S. Senate hearing on AI competition between the United States and China that Microsoft has prohibited employees from using DeepSeek applications and removed them from Microsoft's app store.
Smith cited concerns that DeepSeek could cause 'personal data to be sent back to China' and that content generated by the application has tendencies related to 'Chinese propaganda.'
Reported impact
The U.S. House Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party reported in April 2025 that DeepSeek not only collects user data and manipulates content generation, but could be used by the Chinese Communist Party to monitor foreign citizens and circumvent U.S. export control restrictions, constituting a national security threat.
Index analysis
DeepSeek, headquartered in Hangzhou, China, released its AI model R1 in January 2025 but was quickly accused of collecting user data for China and faced boycotts from multiple countries.
Smith noted that the key factor determining the winner in U.S.-China AI competition is which technology is most widely adopted globally, and the United States must support domestic enterprises and strengthen cooperation with allies to reduce other countries' adoption of Chinese AI models.
Governance controls
Microsoft's ban of DeepSeek extends to both employee use and availability in its official app store.
Multiple other countries have already implemented restrictions on DeepSeek citing data privacy and national security concerns.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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