All people are scared of it. Due to clear security concerns, DeepSeek is not allowed in South Korea
DeepSeek has managed to destabilize the US leadership in AI from companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, or Meta. The Chinese chatbot has not escaped criticism after being embroiled in a controversy over the data collection system it uses.
Countries around the world are beginning to distrust the DeepSeek-R1 AI model. South Korea became the first country to suspend local service for the Chinese AI app, but the list has continued to grow in recent days.
The South Korean government has said DeepSeek stores user information on state-owned servers in China. South Korea has warned that the chances of sensitive data used in conversations being leaked are high.
The South Korean agency has repeatedly warned of the dangers of using this Chinese-origin AI. The Personal Data Protection Commission advised against using the tool a few days before the blockade and asked local ministries and government agencies to remove the tool.
The Korean Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced that the service was suspended indefinitely at 6:00 p.m. (local time) on Saturday, February 15. The country warned that the ban on DeepSeek will be lifted when the company makes necessary improvements to comply with personal data protection laws.
South Korea’s finance and environment ministries were the first to ban DeepSeek two weeks ago. The move was temporary but was quickly followed by the foreign, national defense, economy, trade, and industry ministries.
The data collection policy of this Chinese AI did not convince Hyundai Motor, a South Korean company. The company warned about the risks of DeepSeek and banned its employees worldwide from accessing the platform. The automaker warned that it could be subject to a data breach.
Other countries, including Australia and Italy, have recently joined in banning DeepSeek. Authorities say the data collection process does not meet minimum standards of transparency. The United States is also considering ways to block access to the Chinese chatbot.
DeepSeek collects data from user queries and sends it to CMPassport.com, an official account management portal run by mobile giant China Mobile. South Korea has criticized the state-owned Chinese company for its ability to access information on millions of people.
China Mobile has a long history of processing user data without permission. The company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, and international organizations even added it to their list of national security threats in 2022.