South Korea Blocks DeepSeek Downloads Over Privacy Concerns

South Korean authorities have temporarily blocked app downloads for the Chinese AI model DeepSeek due to privacy concerns.

According to the Associated Press, South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission said that the app was removed from Google Play and the App Store on Saturday, preventing users from installing the popular Chinese model on their devices due to non-compliance with personal data protection rules.

The agency said DeepSeek has already agreed to work with Korean authorities to adjust its protection measures accordingly.

A few days ago, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) accused the Chinese company of “excessively” collecting user’s data and urged local institutions to take action, as they seem to be doing now.

The new restriction for downloads does not affect users who had previously downloaded DeepSeek’s app. However, the director of the South Korean Commission’s investigation division Nam Seok recommended South Korean users delete the app if they had already installed it or avoid entering personal information when interacting with the AI tool.

Many government agencies, companies, and other institutions in the country have already blocked DeepSeek and restricted employees from using the AI model.

According to Reuters, there is no specific date on when South Korean authorities will resume the app download, but the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said—in a media briefing—that they expect to do so as soon as DeekSeek complies with the local privacy laws.

Representatives from the Chinese company traveled to South Korea last week to meet with local authorities and acknowledged neglecting aspects of their data protection law.

A few days ago, Italy also blocked DeepSeek’s chatbot over unresolved privacy concerns, and a recent study revealed that the DeepSeek-R1 model had significant security risks, failing 91% of jailbreak tests, bypassing safety mechanisms, and being vulnerable to prompt injection.