South Korean Regulators Remove App ‘Deepseek’ for Privacy Violations

According to South Korea’s personal data protection watchdog, Getty Images South Korea has banned new downloads of China’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. The country’s government agency stated that the AI model will become available again to South Korean users when “improvements and remedies” are made to ensure it complies with the nation’s privacy laws.

In the week after making global headlines, DeepSeek became incredibly popular in South Korea, rising to the top of app stores with over a million weekly users. However, its surge in popularity also drew scrutiny from countries around the world due to concerns about privacy and national security. On Saturday evening, the DeepSeek app was made unavailable on Apple’s App Store and Google Play by South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission.

This ban followed several South Korean government agencies banning their employees from downloading the chatbot onto their work devices. Acting President Choi Sang-mok described DeepSeek as a “shock” that could impact various industries beyond AI. Despite the suspension of new downloads, existing users will still be able to continue using it or access it through DeepSeek’s website.

China’s DeepSeek rocked the technology industry and markets when it released its latest app at the end of last month. Its rapid rise as one of the world’s favorite AI chatbots sparked concerns in different jurisdictions. Besides South Korea, Taiwan and Australia have also banned it from all government devices. The Australian government insists that their ban is not due to the app’s Chinese origins but because they consider it an “unacceptable risk” to national security.

Italy’s regulator briefly banned ChatGPT in 2023 and has done the same with DeepSeek, asking the company to address concerns over its privacy policy. Data protection authorities in France and Ireland have also raised questions about how DeepSeek handles citizens’ personal information—specifically whether it is stored on servers in China as suggested by their privacy policy.

In addition, lawmakers in the US have proposed a bill banning DeepSeek from federal devices citing surveillance concerns. At the state-government level, Texas, Virginia, and New York have already introduced such rules for their employees.