South Korea has banned new downloads of China’s DeepSeek synthetic intelligence (AI) chatbot, in response to the nation’s private knowledge safety watchdog.
The federal government company mentioned the AI mannequin will grow to be out there once more to South Korean customers when “enhancements and treatments” are made to make sure it complies with the nation’s private knowledge safety legal guidelines.
Within the week after it made international headlines, DeepSeek grew to become massively standard in South Korea leaping to the highest of app shops with over one million weekly customers.
However its rise in reputation additionally attracted scrutiny from nations all over the world which have imposed restrictions on the app over privateness and nationwide safety considerations.
South Korea’s Private Info Safety Fee mentioned the DeepSeek app grew to become unavailable on Apple’s App Retailer and Google Play on Saturday night.
It got here after a number of South Korean authorities businesses banned their workers from downloading the chatbot to their work units.
South Korea’s performing president Choi Sang-mok has described Deepseek as a “shock”, that might affect the nation’s industries, past AI.
Regardless of the suspension of latest downloads, individuals who have already got it on their telephones will be capable to proceed utilizing it or they might simply entry it through DeepSeek’s web site.
China’s Deepseek rocked the know-how business, the markets and America’s confidence in its AI leadership, when it launched its newest app on the finish of final month.
Its speedy rise as one of many world’s favorite AI chatbots sparked considerations in several jurisdictions.
Other than South Korea, Taiwan and Australia have additionally banned it from all government devices.
Italy’s regulator, which briefly banned ChatGPT in 2023, has executed the identical with DeepSeek, which has been requested to deal with considerations over its privateness coverage earlier than it turns into out there once more on app shops.
In the meantime, lawmakers within the US have proposed a invoice banning DeepSeek from federal units, citing surveillance considerations.
On the state-government stage, Texas, Virginia and New York, have already launched such guidelines for his or her workers.
DeepSeek’s “giant language mannequin” (LLM) has reasoning capabilities which can be akin to US fashions akin to OpenAI’s o1, however reportedly requires a fraction of the price to coach and run.
That has raised questions concerning the billions of {dollars} being invested into AI infrastructure within the US and elsewhere.
Extra reporting by Jean Mackenzie in Seoul
