A new image depicting the Chinese AI service company Deepseek by Reuters and Yonhap News has been released. However, due to excessive personal information collection, several organizations and companies have blocked access to Deepseek, a Chinese generative AI service. Consequently, new downloads of the app in the domestic app market have been temporarily suspended.
The Personal Information Protection Commission announced on the 17th that Deepseek’s domestic service has been temporarily halted since 6 PM on the 15th, and will resume after improvements and adjustments in accordance with domestic personal data protection laws are implemented.
The suspension by the Personal Information Protection Commission was executed by restricting new downloads in the app market. Current users can continue to use Deepseek without issues, but they are urged by the commission to use the app cautiously, such as by refraining from entering personal data into Deepseek’s input fields.
Prior to this, as controversies over Deepseek’s personal information handling spread, the Personal Information Protection Commission sent an official inquiry to Deepseek’s headquarters on the 31st of last month regarding data collection and processing methods in the development and delivery of the service. The main contents of the inquiry included the subject of personal information processing, collection items and purposes, collection usage and storage methods, and sharing policies.
The Personal Information Protection Commission, after analyzing Deepseek’s personal information management and processing, discovered some deficiencies in relation to third-party communication functions and privacy policies, which had been pointed out by domestic and international media.
Deepseek designated a domestic representative on the 10th and expressed its intention to cooperate actively with the Personal Information Protection Commission, acknowledging some neglect in considering domestic personal data protection laws during the global service launch, as conveyed by the commission on the 14th.