South Korea has banned new downloads of the Chinese AI app DeepSeek due to concerns over user data privacy. The South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission found that DeepSeek was sending data to ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok without user permission.
This makes South Korea the second country, after Italy, to restrict DeepSeek, highlighting the tension between AI development and data privacy laws.
DeepSeek, a growing AI company in China, created the DeepSeek-R1 model which competes with OpenAI’s GPT-4. The issue with DeepSeek is not its technology, but how it handles user data.
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The investigation found that DeepSeek did not properly explain how it collects, stores, or shares data. It also allegedly tracked user keystrokes, which raised concerns about mass surveillance. As a result, South Korea’s regulators ordered DeepSeek to stop new downloads on February 15 allowing it to resume only if it follows data privacy laws.
This ban is not just about AI privacy; it also shows South Korea growing concerns about Chinese tech companies. The South Korean government has already investigated other Chinese firms like Temu for potentially collecting too much user data.
This is especially important for Taiwan. DeepSeek has been growing quickly in Asia and its entry into Taiwan could bring similar risks. While Taiwan hasn’t yet looked into DeepSeek, it has previously taken strict actions against Chinese tech firms like TikTok and Huawei to protect sensitive data.
South Korea’s decision should encourage Taiwan to review its AI regulations, especially about Chinese AI apps and their impact on data security.
As AI technology advances quickly, Taiwan needs to balance data protection with innovation, making sure it doesn’t rely too much on foreign AI companies, whether from the US, China, or elsewhere.
The main question now is whether DeepSeek will change its data policies to meet South Korea’s rules or leave the market. The ban is temporary, but if DeepSeek follows the regulations, it could return.
