Australia flags caution over China AI app ‘DeepSeek’: ‘Lot of questions need answers’

On Monday, Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek became the top-rated free app on Apple's App Store in the United States, leading to a crash in the US stock market.

A minister in the Australian government has urged caution over China's breakout AI chatbot ‘DeepSeek’, which became the top-rated free application on Apple's App Store in the United States on Monday, leading to a crash in the US stock market.

The DeepSeek application arranged on a smartphone in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Lam Yik/Bloomberg)

"There are a lot of questions that will need to be answered in time on quality, consumer preferences, data and privacy management," Science minister Ed Husic told national broadcaster ABC.

“I would be very careful about that. These type of issues need to be weighed up carefully,” Husic added.

Concerns around privacy

There are differences between Chinese companies and their Western rivals when it comes to user privacy, the minister noted.

“The Chinese are very good at developing products that work very well. That market is accustomed to their approaches on data and privacy. However, minute you export it to markets where consumers have different expectations around privacy and data management, the questions is whether those products will be embraced in the same way,” he said.

The Australian politician's statement comes as DeepSeek is also being praised for its ability to match Western competitors at a fraction of the cost.

Among those impressed by the Chinese chatbot is Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the San Francisco-based startup behind ChatGPT. DeepSeek surpassed ChatGPT to become the top-rated free app.

In 2018, Australia, citing national security concerns, announced a ban from its 5G network on Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.

(With AFP inputs)