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Despite being exempt from the federal government ban, three federal corporations have joined in blocking access to Chinese-made AI, DeepSeek.
As originally reported by Information Age, the ABC, Australia Post, and NBN Co have all announced that they are banning access to DeepSeek.
The ABC, the nation’s national broadcaster, announced that it would be banning access to the AI chatbot.
“While the ABC is not obliged to adhere to [the federal government] directive, the ABC has assessed the risks to privacy, security and data protection in the use of this service and are in agreement with the directive,” the broadcaster told staff.
The ABC’s ban launched on 6 February and saw the broadcaster instruct its staff to remove the app from their devices.
The NBN also told Information Age that “after careful consideration”, it would be banning access to the platform.
Australia Post also said it was “disabling access to DeepSeek AI on all devices, in line with our commitment to data security”.
All three organisations, like the federal government, cite security risks as the reason for banning the platform.
Questions regarding the regulatory side of DeepSeek have been raised, particularly with the capability of the Chinese government to access data acquired by DeepSeek.
The bot can also be more easily tricked into performing actions that ChatGPT refuses to do, such as writing malicious code or a phishing email.
Just 24 hours after the federal government ban, the South Australian government also banned the chatbot.
“We have taken swift action to ban DeepSeek on government devices, based upon the best advice from federal security advisors and our chief information officer,” said South Australian Treasurer Stephen Mullighan.
“I have approved a directive for DeepSeek to be removed, banned and blocked from any government devices.
“This is a necessary and prudent measure to protect the security of government information and any information held on behalf of the general public.
“I would also urge members of the general public who use DeepSeek to be vigilant and not upload any personal information they may not want to enter the public sphere.”
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