South Korea’s data protection authority has asserted that the Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek illicitly transferred user information and prompts while its service was still downloadable in the nation’s app marketplace.
The Personal Information Protection Commission stated on Thursday that Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co Ltd did not secure user consent when transferring personal information to several companies in China and the United States at the time of its South Korean launch in January.
In February, South Korea’s data agency halted new downloads of the DeepSeek application within the country after DeepSeek reportedly acknowledged failing to consider certain regulations of the agency concerning the protection of personal data.
The data protection agency announced on Thursday that DeepSeek also transmitted content from AI prompts entered by users to Beijing Volcano Engine Technology Co Ltd, along with device, network, and application details.
DeepSeek later informed the agency that the decision to send information to Volcano Engine was intended to enhance user experience and that it had ceased the transfer of AI prompt content starting from April 10th.
The agency has stated its decision to issue a corrective recommendation for DeepSeek to promptly remove AI prompt content transferred to Volcano Engine and to establish a legal framework for the transfer of personal information abroad.
