South Korea has banned new downloads of China’s DeepSeek synthetic intelligence (AI) chatbot, based on the nation’s private information safety watchdog.
The federal government company stated the AI mannequin will change into obtainable once more to South Korean customers when “enhancements and cures” are made to make sure it complies with the nation’s private information safety legal guidelines.
Within the week after it made international headlines, DeepSeek turned massively widespread 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 issues.
South Korea’s Private Data Safety Fee stated the DeepSeek app turned 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 staff from downloading the chatbot to their work units.
South Korea’s appearing president Choi Sang-mok has described Deepseek as a “shock”, that might influence 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 of proceed utilizing it or they could 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 issues in several jurisdictions.
Apart from South Korea, Taiwan and Australia have additionally banned it from all government devices.
Italy’s regulator, which briefly banned ChatGPT in 2023, has completed the identical with DeepSeek, which has been requested to handle issues over its privateness coverage earlier than it turns into obtainable once more on app shops.
In the meantime, lawmakers within the US have proposed a invoice banning DeepSeek from federal units, citing surveillance issues.
On the state-government stage, Texas, Virginia and New York, have already launched such guidelines for his or her staff.
DeepSeek’s “massive language mannequin” (LLM) has reasoning capabilities which can be corresponding to US fashions comparable 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.
Further reporting by Jean Mackenzie in Seoul
