South Korean regulators have discovered that DeepSeek's AI chatbot is transmitting user data to ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has suspended new downloads of the DeepSeek model in South Korea following this revelation.

The PIPC has confirmed direct communication between DeepSeek and ByteDance, though specific details about the type and extent of data being transferred remain unclear. This practice violates South Korean law, which requires explicit user consent for sharing personal information with third parties.

Key Developments:

• DeepSeek has acknowledged inadequacies in its data collection policies
• The company has appointed a South Korean representative
• They have committed to cooperating with the commission's investigation

Security Concerns:

• Security Scorecard's analysis found multiple references to ByteDance-owned services in DeepSeek's Android app
• The findings suggest deep integration with ByteDance's analytics and monitoring infrastructure
• South Korea, Australia, and Taiwan have banned DeepSeek from government devices

DeepSeek gained attention for claiming its AI model was trained at lower costs than U.S. competitors like ChatGPT. However, multiple countries have raised concerns about its data harvesting practices.

South Korean regulators are advising users to avoid entering personal information into the chatbot while the investigation continues.

Related Articles

Previous Articles