US Navy bans use of China's DeepSeek due to ‘security and ethical concerns’ over its ‘origin’

The United States Navy has banned the use of China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) for its members due to ‘security and ethical concerns,’ according to a CNBC report.

In a warning email on Friday, the US Navy said DeepSeek's AI was not to be used “in any capacity” due to “potential security and ethical concerns associated with the model's origin and usage”.

CNBC said a US Navy spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the email, saying that it was in reference to the US Department of the Navy's Chief Information Officer's generative AI policy.

US Navy's ban followed DeepSeek's release of R1, a powerful new reasoning AI model that competes with OpenAI's technology.

In an early warning email, the US Navy said, “We would like to bring to your attention a critical update regarding a new AI model called DeepSeek.”

According to CNBC, the email stated that it's “imperative” that team members do not use DeepSeek's AI “for any work-related tasks or personal use.”

The email was sent on Friday morning to the distribution list OpNav (Operational Navy), indicating that it was an all-hands memo, said CNBC.

The warning was based on an advisory from Naval Air Warcraft Center Division Cyber Workforce Manager, asking the recipients to “refrain from downloading, installing, or using the DeepSeek model in any capacity”.

About DeepSeek

Unlike its rivals, DeepSeek's open-source model allows any AI developer to access and build upon it. The DeepSeek app has quickly soared to the top of Apple's App Store, surpassing OpenAI's ChatGPT, while industry experts have praised its strong reasoning capabilities and performance. The news sent shockwaves through capital markets on Monday, sparking concerns that future AI advancements may require far less costly infrastructure than Wall Street had anticipated.

In late December, DeepSeek revealed that it built its large language model in just two months for under $6 million—despite repeated US restrictions on chip exports to China. That figure is only a fraction of what OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others have spent on similar models.

Shares of AI chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom each dropped 17% on Monday, a route that wiped out a combined $800 billion market cap. Those stocks led to a 3.1% drop in the Nasdaq.

On Monday, DeepSeek said it would temporarily limit user registrations “due to large-scale malicious attacks” on its services. This was before it resumed operations as usual.