In South Korea, authorities have suspended downloads of the DeepSeek application due to violations of personal data protection regulations. The ban, which took effect on February 15, will remain in place until all compliance issues are resolved.
According to the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), the Chinese company behind DeepSeek failed to fully adhere to South Korea’s data protection laws. In response, DeepSeek has appointed legal representatives in the country and acknowledged the regulatory discrepancies. However, the web-based version of the service remains accessible to users.
Similar measures were previously enacted in Italy. In January, the country’s data protection authority, Garante, ordered the suspension of DeepSeek’s chatbot due to inadequacies in its privacy policy. Despite growing international scrutiny, representatives of the Chinese startup have yet to issue an official statement on the matter.
Amid the escalating controversy, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the Chinese government takes data protection seriously. A spokesperson asserted that Beijing has never required companies or individuals to collect and store information in violation of the law.
Earlier, South Korea’s intelligence agency accused DeepSeek of engaging in “excessive” data collection, claiming that all user-inputted data was utilized to train the AI model. The agency also questioned the objectivity of the AI’s responses to queries related to national identity issues.
Several South Korean ministries have already restricted access to the application, joining Australia and Taiwan, which previously voiced concerns and imposed similar restrictions on DeepSeek. The United States is also considering a potential ban.
Furthermore, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into DeepSeek, suspecting violations of the state’s data privacy laws. As part of the inquiry, the Attorney General’s Office has sent formal requests to Google and Apple, demanding an assessment of DeepSeek’s operations and documentation related to the application’s inclusion in their respective app stores.
