South Korea Suspends Downloads of Deepseek

South Korea has suspended downloads of the Chinese AI app DeepSeek pending a review of its data handling practices, Seoul’s Personal Information Protection Commission announced on 17 February.

DeepSeek’s R1 chatbot has impressed investors and industry experts with its capabilities rivalling Western counterparts at a significantly lower cost.

However, concerns over the app’s storage of user data—kept on "secure servers located in the People's Republic of China," according to the company—have prompted scrutiny in several countries.

On Monday, Seoul’s data protection authority stated that DeepSeek would remain unavailable until its data collection practices are thoroughly reviewed.

It said:

"To prevent further concerns from spreading, the commission recommended that DeepSeek temporarily suspend its service while making the necessary improvements."

Deepseek acknowledged shortcomings in adhering to South Korea’s privacy laws and accepted that aligning with local regulations would take considerable time.

Deepseek Pending Privacy Review

DeepSeek was removed from South Korean app stores on Saturday at 6pm (0900 GMT) and remains unavailable for new downloads, though existing users can still access the AI chatbot.

Seoul’s data protection authority has urged users to exercise caution, advising them to avoid entering personal information into the app until the ongoing privacy review is concluded.

Analyst Youm Heung-youl noted that DeepSeek has yet to implement a privacy policy tailored to South Korean users.

Youm, a data security professor at Soonchunhyang University, said:

"It has on the other hand disclosed a privacy policy for the EU and certain other countries, stating that it complies with the domestic laws of those nations."

He added:

"Deepseek needs to establish a privacy policy specific to Korea."

Amidst rising concerns, several South Korean government ministries and law enforcement agencies have blocked access to DeepSeek on official devices.

Italy has also launched an investigation into DeepSeek’s R1 model, prohibiting it from processing data from Italian users, while Australia has banned the app from all government devices based on security agency recommendations.

In the United States, lawmakers have proposed legislation to prohibit DeepSeek’s use on government devices due to data security concerns.

In response to these restrictions, the Chinese government criticised the "politicization of economic, trade, and technological issues," asserting that it has never required and will never require companies or individuals to illegally collect or store data.