
DeepSeek under surveillance: Seoul demands stronger personal data protection
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has temporarily stopped uploading its applications in South Korea following intervention from local regulators concerned about personal data protection issues. South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission confirmed that the applications were removed from local versions of App Store and Google Play on Saturday evening.
The commission’s investigation, launched last month, revealed serious problems in the service’s operation. “The company has not provided sufficient transparency regarding data transfers to third parties and potentially collected excessive personal information,” said Nam Sok, director of the commission’s investigation department.
The situation only affected new downloads – users who have already installed DeepSeek on their devices or use it through the web version still have access to the service. However, the regulator recommends South Korean users delete the application or refrain from entering personal information until the problems are resolved.
Many South Korean government agencies and companies have already blocked DeepSeek in their networks or prohibited employees from using the application for work purposes due to concerns about excessive collection of confidential information.