South Korea confirms DeepSeek shared user data with TikTok’s parent company

February 19, 2025 TruthUSA

The DeepSeek AI app was removed from South Korea’s app stores on Feb. 15 due to data privacy concerns.

South Korea’s data protection regulator on Tuesday alleged that Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek was sharing user data with ByteDance, the Beijing-based parent company of TikTok.

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said DeepSeek sent its user data to ByteDance but has yet to determine the type of data transferred, Yonhap News Agency reported.

“We confirmed DeepSeek communicating with ByteDance,” the regulator told the local news outlet, without providing further details about its findings.

South Korea’s regulations require companies operating in the country to obtain consent from users before handing over their personal data to any third party, according to the report.

The DeepSeek AI app was removed from South Korea’s app stores on Feb. 15 due to data privacy concerns. Local media reported that DeepSeek acknowledged neglecting certain aspects of the country’s privacy law and appointed a local representative to address the PIPC’s concerns.

The Chinese startup offered to cooperate after the PIPC sent a formal inquiry requesting information on the personal data collected by the DeepSeek app and its handling of that data, according to local reports.

Nam Seok, director of the investigation division of the PIPC, has advised South Korean users to delete the DeepSeek app from their devices or to avoid entering personal information into it until the issues are resolved.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing requires companies “to strictly abide by local laws and regulations in doing business overseas.” He also urged South Korea to refrain from “politicizing” trade and tech issues.

Under Beijing’s counterespionage law, companies in China are required to hand over their user data if requested by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities.

DeepSeek has sparked data privacy concerns following the launch of its free, open-source AI model in January. The app is controlled by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence, according to its privacy policy webpage.

Earlier this month, South Korea blocked the use of DeepSeek services on government devices after its spy agency alleged that the Chinese-trained AI app “excessively” collects personal data.

“Unlike other generative AI services, it has been confirmed that chat records are transferable as it includes a function to collect keyboard input patterns that can identify individuals and communicate with Chinese companies’ servers such as volceapplog.com,” the National Intelligence Service said in a statement on Feb. 10.

Australia and Taiwan have also banned the use of the DeepSeek AI app on their government devices over data security concerns, and Italy’s Data Protection Authority has blocked access to DeepSeek.

U.S. lawmakers on Feb. 7 introduced legislation aimed at banning the use and download of the DeepSeek AI app from government devices. Texas has already banned both DeepSeek and TikTok from government devices.

DeepSeek’s privacy policy webpage states that data collected from the app will be stored “in secure servers located in the People’s Republic of China.” It also states that user information may be disclosed to third parties if it believes that such disclosure is necessary “to comply with applicable law, legal process or government requests, as consistent with internationally recognized standards.”

ByteDance’s video-sharing app TikTok has also faced scrutiny amid concerns that the CCP could potentially access U.S. consumer data collected by the app. The app was briefly shut down in the United States on Jan. 19 due to a law signed by then-President Joe Biden, which required ByteDance to divest or face a nationwide ban.

The app was restored after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 calling for a 75-day pause on the enforcement of the federal divest-or-ban law. Trump has suggested a deal in which the United States would hold a 50 percent stake in TikTok.

The Epoch Times reached out to DeepSeek for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Owen Evans contributed to this report.

Source link