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South Korea pauses downloads of DeepSeek AI over privacy concerns

Feb 17, 2025 - engadget.com
DeepSeek, a popular Chinese AI assistant, has been temporarily removed from app stores in South Korea since February 15 due to non-compliance with local data protection laws. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) stated that downloads will resume once the company aligns with these regulations. Although existing users can still access the app, it is blocked on government and military devices. DeepSeek, which only established a local presence in South Korea on February 10, admitted to not fully considering the country's data protection laws during its global launch. The PIPC is conducting an inspection, expected to take less time than previous inspections of other AI services, as it only involves DeepSeek.

The PIPC discovered that DeepSeek was transferring Korean users' data to ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, prompting a warning to local users about entering personal information into the app. Similar security concerns have led countries like Australia and Taiwan to ban the app on government devices. The Italian Data Protection Authority has also requested information from DeepSeek regarding the data used to train its models. In response to the South Korean ban, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated that Beijing would never ask companies or individuals to store or collect data illicitly.

Key takeaways:

  • DeepSeek has been temporarily removed from South Korean app stores due to non-compliance with local data protection laws.
  • The PIPC discovered that DeepSeek was transferring Korean users' data to ByteDance, leading to warnings against entering personal information into the app.
  • DeepSeek is blocked on South Korean government and military devices, and similar bans have been enacted in Australia and Taiwan due to security concerns.
  • The company plans to cooperate with South Korean authorities to resume app downloads, acknowledging oversight of local data protection laws.
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