South Korea’s Ban on DeepSeek AI Chatbot
South Korea has recently taken a significant step by banning new downloads of China’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, as confirmed by the country’s personal data protection watchdog.
The government agency has stated that the AI model will be reinstated for South Korean users once necessary «improvements and remedies» are implemented to ensure compliance with the nation’s personal data protection laws.
Following its global recognition, DeepSeek quickly gained popularity in South Korea, rising to the top of app stores with over a million weekly users. However, this surge in popularity also drew attention from various countries, leading to restrictions due to privacy and national security concerns.
Impact and Response in South Korea
The South Korea Personal Information Protection Commission announced that the DeepSeek app is no longer available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, effective from Saturday evening.
This decision followed several South Korean government agencies prohibiting their employees from downloading the chatbot onto work devices.
Acting president Choi Sang-mok expressed concerns about DeepSeek, referring to it as a «shock» that could have implications beyond AI for the country’s industries.
While new downloads have been suspended, existing users can continue using the app or access it through DeepSeek’s website.
Global Response to DeepSeek
China’s DeepSeek made waves in the technology industry and markets, shaking America’s confidence in its AI leadership upon the release of its latest app last month.
The rapid rise of DeepSeek as a popular AI chatbot raised concerns in various jurisdictions, leading to bans not only in South Korea but also in Taiwan and Australia on government devices.
Italy’s regulatory body, which previously banned ChatGPT in 2023, has similarly restricted DeepSeek until privacy policy concerns are addressed for its re-release on app stores.
In the United States, lawmakers have proposed a bill to ban DeepSeek from federal devices due to surveillance worries. At the state level, Texas, Virginia, and New York have already enforced such prohibitions for their employees.
Notably, DeepSeek’s «large language model» (LLM) boasts reasoning capabilities comparable to US models like OpenAI’s o1 but at a fraction of the training and operational costs, prompting questions about extensive AI infrastructure investments in the US and other countries.
Additional reporting by Jean Mackenzie in Seoul