By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - South Korea said Monday that it has suspended new downloads of the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) app DeepSeek over concerns about its data collection practices.
The Personal Information Protection Commission said the service was suspended Saturday and will be resumed after "improvements and remedies" are made in line with the country’s personal information protection laws, Yonhap news agency reported.
The move comes after several government ministries and agencies blocked internal access to the AI service amid concerns about its "data management practices."
The commission last month formally sought clarification on DeepSeek's data collection and management methods.
DeepSeek has since assigned a representative in South Korea and acknowledged shortcomings in considering the country’s privacy laws while also expressing its will to cooperate with the commission, according to South Korean officials.
The Chinese startup DeepSeek sent shockwaves through the AI industry last month with its cost-effective and free chatbot due to its rapid progress in rivaling US-based OpenAI’s ChatGPT with far fewer resources.
DeepSeek gained unprecedented popularity in mobile app stores across the globe, dethroning ChatGPT in certain regions, including the US.