South Korea’s data protection authority has announced a suspension of new downloads for the Chinese AI app DeepSeek, citing the app’s failure to comply with the country’s stringent privacy regulations.
The decision, which took effect on Saturday, follows an acknowledgment by DeepSeek that it did not fully adhere to South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).
According to the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), DeepSeek’s service will resume only once the company makes the necessary improvements to align with South Korea’s privacy laws.
Although new downloads have been blocked, the app’s web service remains accessible to users in South Korea.
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has been under scrutiny for its handling of personal data, prompting the company to appoint legal representatives in South Korea last week.
The PIPC confirmed that the company had failed to sufficiently consider the country’s data protection requirements.
This suspension follows similar actions taken by other countries, such as Italy.
Last month, Italy’s data protection authority, Garante, ordered DeepSeek to block its chatbot due to privacy concerns, citing the company’s failure to address the regulator’s privacy policy issues.
DeepSeek has yet to respond publicly to these latest developments.
However, when questioned about the South Korean government’s move, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry emphasized China’s commitment to data privacy and security.
The spokesperson assured that Beijing would never encourage or require companies or individuals to violate data protection laws.
As the global regulatory landscape tightens around data privacy, companies like DeepSeek will need to make significant adjustments to ensure compliance with increasingly strict standards.
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