Microsoft Vice Chairman and President Brad Smith announced during a Senate hearing today that the company has prohibited its employees from using DeepSeek’s applications, citing serious concerns over data security and the risk of Chinese government influence.
Smith revealed that DeepSeek’s app, available on desktop and mobile, has been barred from Microsoft’s internal use and excluded from its app store due to fears that user data could be stored on Chinese servers and subject to state surveillance. He stressed that DeepSeek’s responses might be shaped by Chinese propaganda.
While various organizations have restricted DeepSeek, this marks Microsoft’s first public acknowledgment of its internal ban, despite previously offering DeepSeek’s R1 model via Azure Cloud earlier this year.
