Microsoft has chosen to restrict the use of its AI tool DeepSeek due to concerns about data security related to storage in China. This was disclosed by Vice President Brad Smith during U.S. Senate hearings, as reported by TechCrunch.

Smith indicated that DeepSeek is not available in the Microsoft Store because user data could potentially be accessed by Chinese authorities under local laws.

Despite the ban, Microsoft had previously granted access to the AI model DeepSeek R1 via its Azure cloud platform. He also mentioned that the company managed to modify the DeepSeek AI model to eliminate any harmful side effects.

This marks Microsoft's first public statement regarding the restriction of DeepSeek, although other companies and countries have already implemented similar bans. DeepSeek is viewed as a competitor to Copilot — Microsoft's own AI solution for internet search.