The Hague: The Netherlands has officially banned civil servants from utilizing DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed in China, as per reports from local media. This decision comes as a precautionary measure against potential espionage activities, with the directive being implemented by State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalization, Zsolt Szabo, according to public broadcaster NOS.

According to Anadolu Agency, the move follows warnings from the Dutch Data Protection Authority, which expressed concerns over the possibility of DeepSeek storing personal data that could be accessed by Chinese state authorities. The Authority advised users to reconsider inputting personal and sensitive information into the application, citing privacy risks.

This action by the Netherlands mirrors similar steps taken by South Korea and Australia earlier in the week, where certain government departments have also restricted the use of DeepSeek. The chatbot, which was launched to the public in January, has been at the center of controversy despite its technical advancements.

DeepSeek's parent company asserts that its chatbot competes with popular AI platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT. It boasts of having been developed at a lower cost using less sophisticated semiconductor chips, and highlights its efficiency in terms of memory and energy usage, which purportedly makes it more economical to operate.

Despite these claims, the app quickly gained traction, becoming the most downloaded free app on Apple's App Store shortly after its release-a notable achievement for a Chinese-developed application. Nonetheless, the potential security risks have cast a shadow over its rapid success, leading to its prohibition in several countries' governmental sectors.