South Korea has banned new downloads of the Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot DeepSeek, citing concerns over personal data protection laws, the country’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced.
The AI chatbot, which gained rapid popularity in South Korea following its global release, soared to the top of app stores, amassing over a million weekly users. However, the surge in downloads also drew international scrutiny, with multiple governments imposing restrictions over privacy and national security risks.
DeepSeek Suspended from App Stores
According to the PIPC, Apple’s App Store and Google Play removed DeepSeek from their platforms in South Korea on Saturday evening. The decision follows an earlier move by several South Korean government agencies, which banned employees from downloading the chatbot on work devices.
South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, called DeepSeek a “shock” and warned that its impact could extend beyond AI, potentially affecting key industries in the country.
While new downloads have been suspended, users who already have DeepSeek on their devices can continue using the app or access it through the company’s official website.
Growing Global Restrictions on DeepSeek
South Korea is not the only country to take action against DeepSeek. Taiwan and Australia have also banned the chatbot from all government devices, citing security risks.
The Australian government defended its decision, stating the move was not based on DeepSeek’s Chinese origins, but rather due to the “unacceptable risk” it poses to national security.
Meanwhile, Italy’s data regulator, which previously banned ChatGPT in 2023, has temporarily blocked DeepSeek until the company addresses privacy concerns. Regulators in France and Ireland have also raised questions about how the chatbot handles user data, particularly whether personal information is stored on servers in China, as DeepSeek’s privacy policy suggests.
The chatbot reportedly collects user data such as email addresses, dates of birth, and input prompts, which could be used to improve its AI model. This has raised data security concerns, particularly regarding potential access by the Chinese government.
US Moves Toward DeepSeek Ban
In the United States, lawmakers have proposed a bill to ban DeepSeek from all federal devices, citing concerns over state surveillance. At the state level, Texas, Virginia, and New York have already introduced similar restrictions for government employees.
DeepSeek’s large language model (LLM) has been compared to top-tier US models, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4, but is said to be significantly cheaper to train and operate. This has raised questions about the massive AI investments being made in the US and elsewhere, and whether they can compete with China’s cost-efficient advancements.
As global scrutiny of DeepSeek intensifies, the company will need to address privacy and security concerns before it can regain access to key markets, including South Korea.
