DeepSeek’s R1 chatbot stunned investors and industry insiders in January with its ability to match the functions of its Western competitors at a fraction of the cost.
The PIPC launched an investigation in February and said DeepSeek would no longer be available for download until a review of its personal data collection practices was completed.
“Initially, DeepSeek transferred personal data to companies located in China and the United States without obtaining users’ consent or disclosing this in the privacy policy at the time the service was launched,” commission official Nam Seok told reporters.
“In particular, it was confirmed that DeepSeek transferred not only device, network, and app information, but also user inputs in AI prompts to Volcano Engine,” he said.