South Korea halts new downloads of DeepSeek over privacy concerns

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DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, has temporarily paused downloads of its chatbot apps in South Korea as the company works with local authorities to address privacy concerns, South Korean officials confirmed on Monday.

The South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced that DeepSeek’s apps were removed from the local versions of both Apple’s App Store and Google Play on Saturday evening.

The company has agreed to collaborate with the commission to improve privacy protections before the apps can be relaunched.

This action affects new downloads of the DeepSeek app but does not impact users who have already downloaded the app or are using it on personal computers. Nam Seok, director of the PIPC’s investigation division, advised users to delete the app from their devices or avoid entering personal information until the privacy issues are addressed.

Many South Korean government agencies and companies have already blocked DeepSeek from their networks, with some prohibiting employees from using the app for work, due to concerns that the AI model was collecting excessive amounts of sensitive information.

The PIPC had begun reviewing DeepSeek’s services last month. It found that the company lacked transparency about third-party data transfers and had potentially collected more personal information than necessary.

While the commission has not yet provided an estimate of DeepSeek’s user base in South Korea, a recent analysis by Wiseapp Retail indicated that the app had around 1.2 million users in the country as of late January, making it the second-most-popular AI chatbot after ChatGPT.

The suspension of new downloads follows a similar move in Italy, where the country’s data protection authority, the Garante, ordered DeepSeek to block its chatbot after it failed to address concerns over its privacy practices.

The PIPC stated that the app's service would be reinstated once DeepSeek complies with South Korea’s data protection regulations. DeepSeek acknowledged the oversight and appointed legal representatives in South Korea last week to address the issues.

The Chinese government, meanwhile, has expressed its commitment to data privacy and security, asserting that companies will not be forced to collect or store data in violation of laws.

DeepSeek has yet to respond to requests for comment regarding the ongoing privacy issues and regulatory scrutiny.