Major Australian Universities, Telcos, and Banks Block CCP AI DeepSeek

The DeepSeek logo is seen at the offices of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek in Hangzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang Province, on Feb. 5, 2025. STR/AFP via Getty Images

A collective of Australia’s leading universities, known as the Group of Eight (Go8), has blocked staff and students from using the Chinese-owned artificial intelligence app DeepSeek.

This follows a similar prohibition across all of the Australian government a week ago. The federal government declared DeepSeek “an unacceptable risk to the Australian government technology,” with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke emphasising swift action to protect national security.

“AI is a technology full of potential and opportunity—but the government will not hesitate to act when our agencies identify a national security risk,” he said.

Go8 universities, which educate more than 425,000 students—more than a quarter of all higher education students in Australia—spend $6.5 billion on research each year.

A 2018 report by London Economics found that the Go8 had contributed $66.4 billion to the Australian economy. It is this research that the universities say triggered the ban.

“The Group is 100 percent committed to protecting sensitive research and data, and will continue to update policies and procedures to navigate the rapidly changing landscape of technology and artificial intelligence,” Go8 stated in a Facebook post, quoting Chief Executive Vicki Thomson.

“We are committed to the ethical and responsible use of generative AI and to preparing our students, researchers, and staff to be leaders in an increasingly AI-enabled world.”

Safeguarding Billions in Research Funding and Innovation

The Go8 includes the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Western Australia, the Australian National University, the University of Sydney, UNSW Sydney, and the University of Queensland.

The group claims its graduates account for more than half of Australia’s doctors, dentists, and vets, along with 54 percent of science graduates and more than 40 percent of engineering graduates.

The ban aligns with similar actions taken by other countries and mirrors previous bans on high-risk apps like TikTok. Other major institutions have also blocked DeepSeek from their internal systems, including federally owned corporations such as NBN Co, the ABC, and Australia Post.

The country’s second-largest telecommunications company, Optus, has also restricted access, while Telstra, the largest, has opted to limit staff use. Instead, it announced last month that it would invest $700 million in a joint venture with Accenture to develop its own large language model AI.

Meanwhile, Australia’s biggest financial institution, the Commonwealth Bank, confirmed it did not plan to use Chinese AI, with at least two other major banks expected to adopt a similar stance.

Go8 Graduate Involved in DeepSeek’s Development

Despite the ban, a Go8 graduate played a role in DeepSeek’s development.

Zizheng Pan, an alumnus of two Go8 universities, completed a Master’s in computer science at the University of Adelaide in 2020 and gained a PhD in the same discipline at Monash four years later.

However, Go8’s primary concern remains the security of its research and data.

The group has developed a set of AI principles, benchmarked against Australia’s AI Ethics Principles, to guide its members in responsible AI usage.

While equating AI to the Industrial Revolution in terms of its impact on society, the guidelines warn that the technology comes with ethical challenges and potential risks that must be addressed.