South Korea removes DeepSeek
South Korea’s data protection authority has suspended the new downloads of DeepSeek app after the Chinese AI startup failed to take into account the country’s rules on personal data protection.
Choi Jang-hyuk, vice chairperson of Seoul’s Personal Information Protection Commission, confirmed the suspension on new downloads of DeepSeek (via AFP) and stated that authorities will “thoroughly examine DeepSeek’s personal data processing practices to ensure compliance” with the local laws.
Meanwhile, the domestic data protection agency said that DeepSeek had “acknowledged that considerations for domestic privacy laws were somewhat lacking”. It further stated that bringing DeepSeek in line with South Korea’s privacy laws “would inevitably take a significant amount of time”, it added.
“To prevent further concerns from spreading, the commission recommended that DeepSeek temporarily suspend its service while making the necessary improvements,” Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) was quoted as saying by AFP.
“Existing users are… strongly advised to use the service with caution until the final results are announced, including refraining from entering personal information into the DeepSeek input field,” the data protection authority added.
DeepSeek was reportedly removed from the local app stores on Saturday at 6:00 PM (0900 GMT) and app was unavailable on the local version of Apple app store on Monday but users who already had the app downloaded could still use the app.
What is DeepSeek and why is there an issue with its privacy policy?
DeepSeek is a Chinese AI startup started by businessman Wenfeng Liang in the eastern city of Hangzhou. DeepSeek’s AI chatbot was released to the global audiences last month and later took the world by storm owing to the capability of its model matching its Western counterparts while being built at a fraction of the cost and being trained on older hardware.
However, DeepSeek, much like other Chinese AI chatbots, refrains from criticizing or even being vaguely objective on issues related to its home government. The chatbot’s behavour has led to concerns about how DeepSeek is collecting and saving user data.
“We may collect your text or audio input, prompt, uploaded files, feedback, chat history, or other content that you provide to our model and Services,” DeepSeek’s privacy policy.
DeepSeek’s privacy concerns have forced countries like Italy and Taiwan to block the chatbot while others have asked their government employees to stay wary of the startup.