The news: Chinese AI firm DeepSeek has been accused of supporting Beijing’s military and intelligence operations by a senior US official, reports Reuters. The company allegedly sought to use Southeast Asian shell companies to access high-end semiconductors that can’t be shipped to China under US rules.
The context: “We understand that DeepSeek has willingly provided and will likely continue to provide support to China’s military and intelligence operations,” a senior US State Department official told Reuters.
“This effort goes above and beyond open-source access to DeepSeek’s AI models,” the source added.
The official’s claims against DeepSeek include the allegation that the company is sharing user information and statistics with Beijing’s surveillance apparatus. US lawmakers have previously said that DeepSeek, based on its privacy disclosure statements, transmits American user data to China through “backend infrastructure” connected to China Mobile, a Chinese state-owned telecommunications giant.
While Chinese law requires that companies operating in China provide any data to the government upon request, the idea that DeepSeek is already offering this data is likely to raise privacy concerns for tens of millions of users globally. The update could also add further tension to the already fraught trade negotiations between China and the US.
Hangzhou-based DeepSeek upended the global AI industry in January on claims that its AI technology was on par or better than US models, and were only a fraction of the cost.
In February Australia’s Labor government announced that it would
ban Chinese AI app DeepSeek from all federal government devices and systems on national security grounds.