South Korean Privacy Office Publishes Results of DeepSeek Probe
South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) Thursday published the results of a preliminary investigation of DeepSeek, the controversial China-based AI company.
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The PIPC noted that in January, when DeepSeek launched in South Korea, concerns about personal information infringement led it to send DeepSeek a questionnaire about how it collects and processes personal data.
At the same time, the regulator said, the Korean Internet Security Agency conducted a technical analysis to confirm some shortcomings in DeepSeek's communications functions and privacy policy.
During the initial engagements, DeepSeek acknowledged that it had neglected some aspects of the country's privacy rules and agreed to cooperate with PIPC, the regulator said. The company also temporarily suspended new downloads in the domestic app market.
PIPC said its follow-up inspection showed that the company has deployed a system to safeguard personal information and prevent the risk of infringement.
The regulator recommended that DeepSeek ensure that it has a legal basis for transferring Koreans' personal information to China, promptly destroy user information that has already been transferred, and improve the transparency of its use of personal information by publishing its privacy notices in Korean.