SA gov follows feds in blocking DeepSeek

The South Australian government has moved to block access to DeepSeek over its network and directed public servants to stop using and remove it from devices.

The state-based ban came less than 24 hours after a Home Affairs directive that similarly bars the use of DeepSeek at a federal level.

DeepSeek’s AI assistant and underlying DeepSeek-V3 model has captured global attention in the month or so it’s been available.

While there is still plenty of technical curiosity about DeepSeek’s capabilities, there are also increasing security concerns owing to the model’s development being in China.

The South Australian government said it “moved swiftly” after the federal announcement to bar the use of DeepSeek by public servants and on government-owned devices.

Part of its risk assessment is based on “DeepSeek retaining significant amounts of data to train its AI model.”

It also took advice from “federal security advisors” as well as the SA government CIO.

The conclusion was that DeepSeek “poses unacceptable risks to the South Australian government’s ICT systems”.

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said he “approved a directive for DeepSeek to be removed, banned and blocked from any government devices.”

“This is a necessary and prudent measure to protect the security of government information, and any information held on behalf of the general public,” Mullighan said.

Mullighan also warned constituents to be “vigilant” in any personal experimentation with DeepSeek.