South Korean authorities have announced that they are temporarily suspending the Chinese artificial intelligence tool "DeepSeek" from local app stores, quoted by BTA.
The reason for this is an investigation into the way the Chinese startup manages users' personal data. The country joins a number of other countries, including Italy, France and Australia, that have also expressed concerns about the protection of personal information and national security risks.
The procedure launched by South Korean authorities aims to assess whether "DeepSeek" practices data processing practices comply with local laws on the protection of personal information.
Choi Chan-hyeok, vice chairman of the South Korean Data Protection Commission, explained that the investigation will examine these practices in detail and determine whether there are violations of consumer rights.
At the end of January, South Korean regulators already asked "DeepSeek" for explanations regarding the processing of user data. The company admitted some shortcomings in the protection of personal information, after which the authorities decided to take additional measures to regulate the situation.
As a result of the investigation, as of Saturday evening, the "DeepSeek" chatbot is no longer available for new download from app stores, but those users who have already downloaded it can continue to use it.
At the same time, South Korean authorities are advising citizens to be careful and not enter personal data into the app until the final results of the investigation are provided.
In addition, several ministries in South Korea, including those of defense and trade, have blocked access to "DeepSeek" on official computers to prevent possible security risks.
Providing personal data on the "DeepSeek" platform is a cause for concern worldwide, with some experts believing that this data could fall into the hands of Chinese authorities.
China, for its part, regularly states that it does not require companies to collect or store data illegally.
However, many other countries, including Taiwan and Australia, have already taken action to restrict the use of "DeepSeek" due to national security and cybersecurity risks.
In the European Union, investigations are ongoing, and Italy has banned the chatbot from processing data of Italian users.