South Korea halts DeepSeek downloads amid security, privacy concerns

DeepSeek has been removed from all app stores in South Korea, as authorities “thoroughly examine” its data processing practices “to ensure compliance” with local laws. The vice-chairperson of Seoul’s Personal Information Protection Commission made the announcement in a press conference on Monday (February 17).

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DeepSeek admits to partially overlooking data protection laws

South Korea’s data protection agency said in a press release that the legal representatives of DeepSeek had “acknowledged that considerations for domestic privacy laws were somewhat lacking”.

They asserted that bringing DeepSeek in line with local privacy laws would be a time-consuming effort, which would take a while to complete.

Efforts taken by South Korea

Months ago, South Korean ministries and police blocked DeepSeek on all their devices.

On Monday, DeepSeek was removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in South Korea. Users who have already downloaded the app can see it but data protection agencies have warned users to not share any sensitive information with the app and to use it with caution, if they are using it at all.

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China’s response

DeepSeek’s data has been said to be stored in secure servers in China. In the months prior to the app being removed, South Korea and other countries such as Italy, the US, and also India took a closer look at the new AI chatbot and addressed potential security concerns.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said in a media briefing on February 6 that the Chinese government attaches great importance to data privacy and security, protecting it in accordance with the law, as per a Reuters report. The spokesperson reiterated that Beijing would never ask any company or individual to breach laws by collecting or storing unauthorized data.