The South Korean data protection regulator has accused Deepseek of sending citizen data using its AI chatbot to the Tiktok Bytedonce matrix company. This accusation occurs a day after ordering a temporary block in the new Deepseek downloads about privacy concerns.
“We confirmed that Depseek communicated with Bytedance,” said an official of the country’s personal information protection commission (PIPC) to the Yonhap news agency, and added that “he has not yet confirmed what data were transferred and to what extent “
Although he did not comment directly on such accusations, Depseek recognized “deficiencies when considering local protection laws” and expressed the commitment to cooperate with the regulator on the matter.
Chinese technology under greater scrutiny
South Korea may be the first to formally accuse Deep Speeek of illegally sharing user data with the controversial owner of Tiktok, but it is not the only country that goes after the new Chinese chatbot of ia in privacy.
Deepseek has sent some serious shock waves worldwide since the release of January, in fact. With 12 million curious people worldwide downloading the new application within 48 hours after its launch, governments have been observing the Deepseek phenomenon more and more suspicious.
Italy, France, Germany, the United States, Taiwan, Australia and South Korea are just some of the countries that go to Deepseek AI. Most accuse the new Chinese chatbot to violate the country’s data protection laws.
Deepseek’s problems are mainly linked to the fact that the chatbot stored all users’ data on their Chinese servers and, according to the privacy policy of the platform, will be used to “comply with our legal obligations, or as necessary To perform tasks in public interest, or to protect the vital interests of our users and other people. “
Now, PIPC accusations of South Korea are reinforcing the growing concerns among Western governments about how their citizens’ data are processed by such companies.
Concerns about the data of Americans who end up in the hands of the Chinese government are one of the reasons behind the impulse for a Tiktok prohibition in the United States.
Outside the United States, many countries, including the United Kingdom and some European nations, have also prohibited Tiktok from officials of officials about security concerns.
However, the Byteyance has long dismissed these risks, and also did so for the new accusation presented by South Korea.
As the Independent reported, Tiktok’s parent company believes that its link with Deepseek is simply because the AI chatbot uses cloud services provided by Volcano Engine, which is owned by Bytedance. However, this “It does not mean that you have access to Deepseek data,” the document says.
The South Korean data regulator is not the only one that suggests that the two Chinese companies are communicating. A recent report published by the cybersecurity firm SecuuTyscorecard has also found “integration with the Bytedance services” within the Deepseek code.
What is sure now is that the provider that Deepseek operates will have to respond to the clarifications of South Korean officials on the matter now that an official investigation has been launched on their data management practices.
