SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, has announced a temporary suspension of downloads for its chatbot applications in South Korea. This decision was made while the company collaborates with South Korean authorities to address growing privacy concerns. The South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission reported that DeepSeek's apps were removed from local versions of both Apple’s App Store and Google Play on the evening of Saturday.
The commission detailed that the company has agreed to work closely with agency officials to improve privacy protections before the apps are relaunched. The suspension of the apps does not impact users who have already downloaded DeepSeek on their devices, whether smartphones or personal computers. Nam Seok, the director of the commission's investigation division, recommended that South Korean users of DeepSeek either uninstall the app from their devices or refrain from entering personal data until the privacy issues are adequately addressed.
In response to the privacy concerns surrounding DeepSeek, many South Korean government agencies and companies have taken proactive measures by either blocking access to DeepSeek on their networks or prohibiting employees from using the app for work-related purposes. The primary worry among officials is that the AI model may be collecting an excessive amount of sensitive information from its users.
The investigation into DeepSeek's services was initiated by the South Korean privacy commission last month. Preliminary findings revealed that the company demonstrated a lack of transparency regarding the transfer of data to third parties and may have been accumulating excessive personal information. Nam Seok provided further insights by stating that the commission currently does not have an estimate for the user base of DeepSeek within South Korea.
However, a recent analysis conducted by Wiseapp Retail indicated that approximately 1.2 million smartphone users in South Korea utilized DeepSeek as of the fourth week of January, making it the second-most popular AI model in the country, trailing only behind ChatGPT.
As the regulatory scrutiny continues, the future of DeepSeek in South Korea hangs in the balance. The measures taken by the commission exemplify the ongoing efforts of South Korean regulators to ensure data privacy and protection in the rapidly evolving tech landscape, especially concerning foreign AI applications. The resolution of these privacy concerns will be crucial for DeepSeek to regain access to the South Korean market and address the fears of both authorities and users regarding data safety.
