South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has discovered that DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot, is transmitting user data to ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. The regulator has suspended new downloads of DeepSeek in South Korea following this revelation.

Key findings:

• PIPC confirmed direct communication between DeepSeek and ByteDance
• The specific nature and extent of data transfer remains undisclosed
• DeepSeek has admitted to deficiencies in its data collection policies
• The company has appointed a South Korean representative to address concerns

International response:

• South Korea, Australia, and Taiwan have banned DeepSeek from government devices
• U.S. cybersecurity firm Security Scorecard found "multiple direct references to ByteDance-owned" services in the model
• Analysis reveals integration with ByteDance's analytics and monitoring infrastructure

Legal implications:

• South Korean law requires explicit user consent for third-party data sharing
• PIPC has issued a formal inquiry to DeepSeek regarding data collection and management
• Regulators advise users against entering personal information into the chatbot

DeepSeek gained attention for claiming to train its AI model at lower costs than U.S. competitors like ChatGPT. However, multiple countries have raised concerns about its data harvesting practices, leading to increased scrutiny and regulatory action.

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