India’s finance ministry has directed its employees to refrain from using AI tools such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official purposes citing concerns regarding confidentiality. “It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek etc.) in the office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of (government) data and documents,” said an advisory released by the ministry. The circular, approved by the finance secretary, has been distributed to government departments such as revenue, economic affairs, expenditure, public enterprises and financial services. It was not clear whether similar guidelines have been issued for other ministries in India.
Indian Finance Ministry Bans ChatGPT, DeepSeek
Why In News
- India’s finance ministry has directed its employees to refrain from using AI tools such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official purposes citing concerns regarding confidentiality. “It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek etc.) in the office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of (government) data and documents,” said an advisory released by the ministry. The circular, approved by the finance secretary, has been distributed to government departments such as revenue, economic affairs, expenditure, public enterprises and financial services. It was not clear whether similar guidelines have been issued for other ministries in India.
OpenAI Chief’s Visit To India
- The move comes as ChatGPT maker OpenAI’s chief, Sam Altman, was due to touch down in India. Notably, governments in Italy and Australia have also introduced similar restrictions for their employees due to security concerns.
- Openai’s Legal Challenges In India
Openai’s Legal Challenges In India
- Altman’s visit to India comes amidst an intense legal battle triggered by domestic news agency ANI for alleged use of copyright content. Several other publishers and news organisations have now joined forces to oppose OpenAI in courts. Meanwhile, OpenAI maintains that its models used public information for training purposes, which was in line with fair use principles.
- Regarding its legal challenges in India, the US-based AI giant argues that Indian courts don’t have jurisdiction over content matters given it “does not maintain any servers or data centres” in the country.
- As the company faces similar legal challenges abroad, it has struck deals with news publishers such as Time magazine, the Financial Times, Business Insider-owner Axel Springer, France’s Le Monde and Spain’s Prisa Media. OpenAI has not signed any such contract with Indian media outlets yet.
DeepSeek Faces Global Scrutiny
- Dutch privacy watchdog AP announced that it was launching an investigation into DeepSeek’s privacy policies, specifically how the app uses users’ personal information.
- Since its sudden rise in popularity, DeepSeek has come under increasing scrutiny from regulators around the world over its privacy policies. The Chinese app has already been banned in Italy after failing to satisfy privacy concerns raised by the country’s data protection authority.
List Of Countries That Have Banned DeepSeek
- South Korea: South Korea’s defence ministry on Thursday said that it had blocked DeepSeek from accessing its internet-connected military computers.
- Italy: Italy became the first country in the world to ban the DeepSeek AI, doing it in January. The Chinese AI platform has been removed from app stores in the European country. The ban was imposed after Italy’s privacy watchdog, the Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA), asked the startup to give information on how they handle user data.
- Taiwan: Although Taiwan has not yet prohibited its citizens from using the Chinese AI chatbot, it has implemented strict regulations. The country has banned DeepSeek AI from being used across all public sector organizations, including public schools, state-owned enterprises, and critical infrastructure.
- Australia: The country has banned DeepSeek AI from all government devices. “After considering threat and risk analysis, I have determined that the use of DeepSeek products, applications and web services poses an unacceptable level of security risk to the Australian Government,” Tony Burke, home affairs secretary said in a statement.
- United States: DeepSeek’s use has been restricted by the American navy for any work-related tasks or personal use. Texas was the first state to ban the Chinese AI citing that the app could be used for “infiltration” and “data harvesting”.
