DeepSeek faces global privacy scrutiny over data collection practices
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, faces global regulatory scrutiny over data collection practices. South Korea's personal information protection regulator sent a questionnaire to the company in January 2025 after hundreds of companies and government agencies worldwide restricted employee use due to concerns about potential information leakage to the Chinese government.
What happened
DeepSeek's privacy policy states the company collects users' birth dates, names, email addresses, telephone numbers, passwords and other personal data for AI model training, storing this data on secure servers in China.
Hundreds of companies and government agencies worldwide have begun restricting employee and staff use of DeepSeek due to concerns about information leakage to the Chinese government and privacy violations. South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission sent a questionnaire to DeepSeek on January 31, 2025, to verify the legality of personal data collection, including collection items, procedures, and data handling and storage methods.
Reported impact
According to a US cybersecurity firm Armis, approximately 70% of its customers seek to restrict DeepSeek usage. Another US cybersecurity firm Netscope reported that the majority of its customers want to restrict connections to DeepSeek AI through the internet and apps, with approximately 52% already blocking access to the site.
Governance controls
South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission stated it will review the responses and, if necessary, begin on-site inspections or investigations. The questionnaire emphasized that Korea's personal information protection law applies to overseas business operators and included explanations of relevant regulations.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.