DeepSeek AI App Suspension in South Korea

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI application, has been temporarily prohibited from new downloads in South Korea, primarily due to concerns surrounding its management of personal data. This announcement was made by the country’s data protection agency on Monday. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) indicated that DeepSeek had acknowledged its failure to fully comply with certain South Korean data privacy regulations. This restriction became effective on Saturday and will remain in place until the app implements the necessary modifications to align with local privacy laws. Nonetheless, users in South Korea can still access DeepSeek’s web service.

DeepSeek Acknowledges Compliance Issues

Recently, the Chinese startup confirmed it had appointed legal representatives in South Korea and admitted that it had not fully addressed the local data protection laws, as reported by the PIPC. This situation is not an isolated incident for DeepSeek, as just last month, Italy’s data protection authority, the Garante, mandated the company to disable its chatbot in Italy due to ongoing concerns regarding its privacy policies.

China’s Response to South Korea’s Restrictions

In relation to the restrictions placed on DeepSeek by South Korea, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry commented on 6 February that the Chinese government takes data privacy and security matters seriously. The spokesperson emphasized that the government does not encourage companies or individuals to unlawfully collect or store data.