DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, is sparking controversy among regulators worldwide. DeepSeek’s viral AI models and chatbot apps have been banned by a growing number of countries and government bodies due to concerns over DeepSeek’s ethics, privacy, and security practices.

Corporations have also banned DeepSeek, with hundreds of companies taking action. The primary concern is the potential for data leakage to the Chinese government. According to DeepSeek’s privacy policy, the company stores a…

The Defense Information Systems Agency, responsible for the Pentagon’s IT networks, has banned DeepSeek’s website in January, according to Bloomberg. This decision was made after defense officials raised concerns that Pentagon workers were using DeepSeek’s applications without authorization.

Bloomberg notes that while the prohibition remains in place, Defense Department personnel can use DeepSeek’s AI through Ask Sage, an authorized platform that doesn’t directly connect to Chinese servers.

NASA

NASA has also banned employees from using DeepSeek technology. This is according to CNBC, which obtained a memo from the agency’s chief AI officer informing personnel that DeepSeek’s servers operate outside the U.S., raising national security concerns.

“DeepSeek and its products and services are not authorized for use with NASA’s data and information or on government-issued devices and networks,” the memo said, per CNBC. “[Employees are not authorized to] access DeepSeek via NASA devices and agency-managed network connections.”

NASA has blocked use of DeepSeek apps on “agency-managed devices and networks,” CNBC reports.