Denmark advises against using Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek in parliament

By Ebad Ahmed

COPENHAGEN (AA) - Politicians and employees at the Danish parliament have been advised against downloading the Chinese chatbot DeepSeek on phones, computers, or tablets, following a recommendation from the Presidium of the parliament, state news media outlet reported on Thursday.

“The Presidium -- the supreme authority of parliament -- has decided to recommend that you do not use DeepSeek and delete the app on devices provided by the Danish Parliament,” an official email said, conveying the advisory, the Danish broadcaster DR reported.

The decision was described as a "precautionary consideration," which follows a similar move by the Norwegian parliament, which has outright banned the use of the Chinese chatbot.

Previously, the Danish parliament had also issued warnings against using the TikTok app, citing security concerns.

Meanwhile, the EU has also moved to ban TikTok on official work phones, and a number of the US states have also put a ban on the app service.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance -- a Chinese firm -- suspected by Western authorities of passing on users' data to the Chinese government. The firm has maintained that the bans on it are based on a “basic misunderstanding of our corporate structure.”

The Danish engineering association has also called for the state to ban the functionality of the app on all phones used for official correspondence in the public sector.