South Korea Halts Downloads of DeepSeek Due to Privacy Concerns
Authorities took action to remove the Chinese ChatGPT rival from local app stores and recommended users of DeepSeek to delete the app from their devices.
South Korea’s data protection authority announced on Feb. 17 that downloads of the Chinese AI app DeepSeek were halted after Deepseek admitted to not fully complying with the country’s data protection laws.
The DeepSeek app was taken down from Apple’s App Store and Google Play in local versions on Saturday.
South Korea’s data protection authority mentioned that downloads will resume once necessary improvements are made to align with the country’s privacy regulations. Users can still access DeepSeek’s web service in the country.
Nam Seok, director of the investigation division of South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission, advised South Korean users to either delete DeepSeek from their devices or refrain from entering personal information into it until the issues are addressed.
DeepSeek is a Chinese AI company known for developing powerful large language models at a lower cost compared to other leading models.
DeepSeek claimed to have built an AI model using Nvidia’s H800 chips in just two months at a cost of under $6 million.
On Monday, the South Korean government disclosed plans to acquire 10,000 high-performance graphics processing units (GPU) within the year, essential for staying competitive in the AI industry globally. The government is yet to finalize the GPU products to purchase.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok stated that with the intensifying competition in the AI industry, the competitive landscape is shifting from company battles to a broader rivalry between national innovation ecosystems.
The launch of DeepSeek led to a $1 trillion drop in AI-related stocks on Jan. 27 due to the inexpensive DeepSeek model.
On Feb. 10, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) accused DeepSeek of excessively collecting personal data.
During a test by The Epoch Times, DeepSeek avoided sensitive questions related to history, geography, communism, human rights, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Further investigation revealed that DeepSeek aligns closely with the CCP’s ideology, censoring anti-communist responses and promoting favorable views toward the regime.
DeepSeek declined to answer questions about the Tiananmen Square massacre, stating it was designed to provide harmless responses.
The Associated Press, Reuters, Andrew Thornebrooke, and Eva Fu contributed to this report.
