The Canadian federal government has banned the DeepSeek chatbot on government devices due to privacy concerns.

The application is under scrutiny for its collection and retention of sensitive personal data.

Chief information officer Dominic Rochon advised federal departments to limit its use.

Shared Services Canada, which oversees the government’s IT infrastructure, has already blocked it on all devices within its control.

This move follows a similar initiative in the US, where lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill to ban the DeepSeek app on government-issued devices over security risks.

It also aligns with Canada’s 2023 decision to remove TikTok from government mobile devices due to data collection concerns.

Recent DeepSeek developments