DeepSeek R1 chatbot under investigation for data privacy practices
DeepSeek's newly launched R1 chatbot is under investigation by data protection authorities in South Korea, Italy, France and Ireland over concerns about how it handles users' personal information, including whether it scraped data from the internet. Taiwan banned government agencies from using the system citing national security risks. Multiple regulators are seeking clarification or have initiated formal inquiries into the company's data processing practices.
What happened
South Korea's data protection authority announced it would seek clarification from DeepSeek regarding its handling of users' personal information following the launch of the R1 chatbot.
Italy's data protection agency initiated an investigation and blocked the processing of personal data from Italian users. Authorities sought to determine the origins of data used to train the chatbot and whether users were adequately informed about data handling.
France's CNIL data watchdog announced it would engage with DeepSeek to understand potential risks associated with the AI system's data processing.
Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs banned government agencies and critical infrastructure from using DeepSeek, citing national information security concerns related to cross-border transmission and information leakage.
Reported impact
The concerns over DeepSeek's data privacy practices sparked turmoil in global tech markets, with major tech stocks declining significantly during the period.
The uncertainty surrounding DeepSeek's AI practices prompted scrutiny from multiple regulators across jurisdictions including South Korea, Italy, France, Ireland and Taiwan.
Index analysis
The investigation focused on DeepSeek's data processing practices, particularly whether personal data was scraped from the internet and whether users were adequately informed about data usage.
Questions were raised about the origins of training data given the involvement of cross-border data transmission and potential information leakage risks.
Governance controls
Taiwan's ban on government use reflected existing policy requiring avoidance of information and communication technology products posing threats to national information security since 2019.
Multiple data protection authorities sought formal clarification or launched investigations into DeepSeek's compliance with data protection regulations.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.