DeepSeek Accused of Illicit Data Harvesting Amid Government Claims of Strong Privacy Protections

In a startling revelation, South Korea's data watchdog has accused Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek of harvesting private information from South Korean citizens and shipping it abroad without permission, dealing a blow to China's repeated claims that it respects data privacy.

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced its findings on Thursday following an investigation into DeepSeek's data handling practices and security protocols. The revelations come after South Korean authorities already forced the removal of DeepSeek's chatbot application from the country's app marketplaces in February on the PIPC's recommendation.

South Korea Alleges Unauthorised Data Transfer

PIPC made its official conclusions public after examining DeepSeek's data handling and safety measures. This development comes after DeepSeek's chatbot app was taken off South Korean app marketplaces in February, based on the PIPC's advice.

The agency noted that DeepSeek had pledged to work with them to address their worries. Despite its pledge, the PIPC asserts that DeepSeek, during its operations in South Korea, supposedly moved user details to numerous entities in China and the US without getting user permission or making this action known.

Details Of Alleged Violations

The PIPC pointed out a specific instance where DeepSeek transmitted data from AI requests typed by users, along with details about their devices, networks, and applications, to a Chinese cloud platform, Beijing Volcano Engine Technology Co.

Although the PIPC initially described Beijing Volcano Engine Technology Co. as 'an affiliate' of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, the data protection regulator clarified in a statement that the cloud platform 'is a separate legal entity and has no relation to ByteDance,' as indicated by a Google translation.

As per the PIPC, DeepSeek stated that it utilised the services of Beijing Volcano Engine Technology to enhance its application's security and user experience; however, it later stopped transmitting AI prompt data starting on 10 April.

US Probes DeepSeek On Data Security Concerns

When declaring a fresh investigation into DeepSeek, House Energy and Commerce Committee members wrote a letter expressing their worry that similar firms' harvest Americans' personal and proprietary information and introduce new data security vulnerabilities into the US economy.'

'DeepSeek admits to sending Americans' personal information to servers in China, where it is undoubtedly accessed by officials connected to the Chinese Communist Party,' Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., said in a statement.

'We are concerned that this close relationship with agents having close connections to our primary adversary jeopardises our data and our national security.' The letter conveyed apprehension regarding how Chinese enterprises gain access to American technology to further their progress in artificial intelligence.

Guthrie asked DeepSeek to provide the committee with details about the categories and origins of data employed to train its AI models, encompassing any American confidential or private information. Additionally, Guthrie sought confirmation on whether data gathered by DeepSeek is shared with any Chinese government organisation.

Moreover, the letter seeks specifics on the AI system's training process and inquires if any measures are implemented to shape the system's output to conform to the Chinese Communist Party's political objectives. Fox News reports that a response is expected by 8 May.

Beijing Responds To Seoul's Allegations

Amidst the scrutiny from South Korea, the focus now turns to how Beijing is addressing these serious accusations levelled against one of its burgeoning AI companies.

Addressing an inquiry about South Korea's assertion that DeepSeek moves user data overseas without user permission, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated that he lacked knowledge of the particular circumstances the reporter mentioned.

Nevertheless, he stressed the need to highlight that the Chinese government highly values data privacy and security and rigorously enforces legal protections. 'We have never — and will never — require companies or individuals to collect or store data through illegal means,' Guo said.

He pointed out that China consistently opposes the unwarranted expansion of national security concerns and the use of economic, trade, and technological matters for political purposes. He underscored that China will firmly safeguard its companies' lawful rights and interests.