US military bans DeepSeek amid security and data theft concerns
The US military has prohibited personnel from using DeepSeek's AI model R1 due to potential security and ethical concerns. The Chinese AI tool faced scrutiny from US government and regulators over data theft allegations and privacy risks.
What happened
The US Navy prohibited personnel from using DeepSeek's R1 model 'for any task related to work or personal use' in an email sent Friday to service members, citing 'possible safety and ethical concerns related to the origins and use of the model.'
DeepSeek released its AI Assistant application in early January 2025, becoming the most downloaded free app on Apple's App Store in the US by that week, surpassing OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Reported impact
The rapid growth of the Chinese model caused turmoil in the US stock market, with major technology companies including Nvidia suffering considerable losses.
The White House National Security Council announced it was 'reviewing' the implications of DeepSeek AI.
Index analysis
OpenAI reportedly claimed that DeepSeek had stolen its data, stating 'DeepSeek stole from us, we have proof.'
Italy's privacy regulator opened an investigation into DeepSeek, and experts warned users not to upload personal data to the Chinese platform.
Governance controls
The US Navy ban restricted all DeepSeek model access across the military service.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.