South Korea has accused Chinese AI startup DeepSeek of sharing user data with ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. Reports Technology News
“We confirmed DeepSeek communicating with ByteDance,” the South Korean data protection regulator told Yonhap News Agency, reinforcing concerns over potential data security risks.
Over the weekend, South Korea removed DeepSeek from app stores due to these privacy concerns. The Chinese AI app made headlines in January after claims that its new model was trained at a significantly lower cost than US competitors, such as ChatGPT. This revelation sent shockwaves through global stock markets, wiping out billions in value.
Since then, multiple countries have raised concerns over DeepSeek’s data protection policies. In February, a US cybersecurity firm alleged possible data-sharing links between DeepSeek and ByteDance, adding to the growing scrutiny.
Despite its initial rapid rise, which saw it topping App Store charts in the UK, US, and other countries, DeepSeek has since fallen significantly in rankings, now trailing far behind ChatGPT in the UK.
