DeepSeek shares user data with ByteDance
DeepSeek reportedly shares user data with ByteDance and China Mobile. South Korean regulators confirmed the data transfers to ByteDance and are investigating the scope of shared information after previously suspending the app over privacy violations.
What happened
South Korean cybersecurity researchers found that DeepSeek shared user data with third parties. In early February, researchers identified a script on DeepSeek's website that collected account creation and login information and sent it to China Mobile, a Chinese state telecommunications company.
The South Korea Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) confirmed that DeepSeek communicates with ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. A PIPC spokesman stated: 'We confirmed that DeepSeek communicates with ByteDance,' and added that the agency 'still needs to determine which data was transferred and to what extent.'
Reported impact
The data sharing raised privacy concerns about the artificial intelligence company. The reason for DeepSeek sharing user data with ByteDance remains unclear.
Governance controls
The PIPC previously halted new downloads of DeepSeek's mobile applications due to privacy violations. South Korea removed DeepSeek from app stores.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.