South Korea has stopped new downloads of the Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek, following concerns over personal data protection laws. The country’s Personal Information Protection Commission announced that the app will remain unavailable until necessary improvements are made.
DeepSeek became extremely popular in South Korea, reaching over a million weekly users. However, its rapid rise also brought global scrutiny, with many countries worried about privacy and security risks.
On Saturday evening, the app was removed from Apple’s App Store and Google Play in South Korea. Government agencies have also banned employees from using DeepSeek on work devices. Despite the restriction, existing users can still access the chatbot through their phones or its website.
South Korea is not alone in its concerns. Taiwan, Australia, and Italy have also banned the app from government devices, while the US is considering a federal ban over possible surveillance risks.
DeepSeek‘s advanced AI model has impressed the industry, offering capabilities similar to top US models but at a lower cost. This has raised questions about massive AI investments in the US and other countries.
