South Korea has halted new downloads of the AI chatbot DeepSeek, citing concerns over data privacy and national security risks. The ban, enforced across Apple and Google app stores, follows growing scrutiny of DeepSeek’s data collection practices, which reportedly violate local privacy laws. While existing users can still access the chatbot via web browsers, the South Korean government demands regulatory compliance before lifting the suspension.
This move aligns with global efforts to curb potential surveillance threats, as countries like Taiwan, Australia, and the U.S. impose similar restrictions on the AI-powered platform.
DeepSeek data management processes draw concern from the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) of South Korea because they appear to violate local personal information protection laws. The application must seek regulatory confirmation of compliance with local regulations before the suspension will be lifted.
Since its launch last month, the newly released DeepSeek has achieved rapid growth in South Korea and other countries. DeepSeek maintains its operations through designated agents operating in regions beyond South Korean jurisdiction to establish contact with local regulators about the ban situation.
The regulatory ban that affects DeepSeek's operations exists solely within South Korean territory. Taiwan and Australia lead other countries by establishing limitations on the app's use for their government-operated devices. DeepSeek's data privacy practices have become a matter of concern for Italian and French authorities in their European regions.
The United States remains actively preparing legislation to block DeepSeek access from all federal devices because of the same national security and surveillance concerns. Multiple state governments, such as Texas, Virginia, and New York, have authorized legislation to prohibit their government workers from using the app.
Rising international monitoring of DeepSeek’s data collection practices demonstrates the widespread concerns about its surveillance activities. The application gathers multiple forms of user data through which it obtains IP addresses and tracks keystrokes and personal information. DeepSeek's data handling system, which combines data storage in Chinese servers, generates significant security dangers because it exposes user information to potential privacy breaches and risks national security.
DeepSeek also faces data privacy controversies similar to those that TikTok has encountered in various nations. DeepSeek's privacy policy creates privacy concerns because it allows the company to possess user data, including sensitive information, and disclose it to authorities on demand.
According to expert opinion, DeepSeek's input, prompt data, and chat history tracking features present privacy violation risks to users.DeepSeek faces security challenges because of national defense-related threats. Governments worldwide identify DeepSeek's AI models as a significant threat because they could serve espionage purposes and influence campaigning. Experts believe DeepSeek represents a worse threat to national security than TikTok because its technology enables fast data processing to discover and attack multi-scale security gaps.