Microsoft has banned its employees from using an AI app called DeepSeek. This was revealed by Brad Smith, the company’s Vice Chair, during a hearing in the U.S. Senate.
Why did Microsoft ban DeepSeek?
Brad Smith said Microsoft took this step because of data privacy risks and the danger of Chinese influence. The company has also not allowed DeepSeek on its app store. Smith explained that user data might be stored in China, and DeepSeek’s responses might be affected by Chinese propaganda.
DeepSeek follows Chinese laws
DeepSeek’s privacy policy says that all user data is stored on servers in China and is controlled by Chinese law. This means the app might have to share data with the Chinese government. Also, DeepSeek may block or change any content that the Chinese government finds sensitive.
Other U.S. agencies also banned it
This is the first time Microsoft publicly spoke about banning DeepSeek, according to TechCrunch. However, other U.S. organizations like the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Navy have already banned the app because of similar concerns.
Many people have warned that apps like DeepSeek and even ChatGPT can collect too much personal data. The U.S. Congress has described DeepSeek as a serious threat to national security and privacy.
What kind of data does DeepSeek collect?
A report from Congress says DeepSeek collects chat history, device details, and even how a person types. It also says the app sends data to China and uses systems that can secretly edit or censor the content, based on Chinese rules.
DeepSeek had a big data breach
Earlier, DeepSeek faced a major data leak, where over 1 million records were exposed. This increased concerns about how safe the app really is.
Microsoft’s double move?
Although Brad Smith criticized DeepSeek, Microsoft had earlier made DeepSeek’s R1 model available on its Azure cloud platform when the app became popular. Microsoft said this is not the same as offering the full app itself.
DeepSeek is open-source, meaning anyone can use it on their own servers to keep data from being sent out. But even then, there is still risk of propaganda or unsafe AI responses.
Smith said Microsoft had made changes to DeepSeek’s AI model to remove harmful parts before adding it to Azure. However, the company hasn’t said exactly what changes were made.
DeepSeek also competes with Microsoft’s own Copilot chat app. Still, not all chatbot apps are banned from the Microsoft Store. For example, Perplexity is still available.
