Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek upended the global industry and wiped billions off US tech stocks when it unveiled its R1 programme, which it claims was built on cheap, less sophisticated Nvidia semiconductors.

But governments from Rome to Seoul are cracking down on the user-friendly Chinese app, saying they need to prevent potential leaks of sensitive information through generative AI services.

AFP takes a look at what's going on:

First to act was Italy, which launched an investigation into DeepSeek and said it was blocking the upstart Chinese app from possessing Italian users' data.

Italy's Data Protection Authority had briefly blocked Western competitor ChatGPT in 2023.

Next, Taiwan banned workers in the public sector and at key infrastructure facilities from using DeepSeek, saying it was a Chinese product and could endanger national security.

Australia following suit days after.

Then, South Korean ministries -- including defence and unification, which oversees ties with the nuclear-armed North -- and the country's police force banned the app from military and work computers, citing security risks.

On Monday, authorities there said that DeepSeek would........

© International Business Times