South Korea bans DeepSeek on government computers over data collection concerns
South Korea's Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defense ministries blocked access to the Chinese AI service DeepSeek on government computers due to concerns about user data collection. A Defense Ministry official cited technical concerns about the service's security on military computers.
What happened
The South Korean Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Defense restricted access to the Chinese artificial intelligence service DeepSeek on computers connected to external networks due to concerns about user data collection.
A Defence Ministry official cited "technical concerns" as the reason for restricting access on computers used for military operations.
Reported impact
The three ministries handle sensitive data related to foreign affairs, trade and national security according to Yonhap News Agency.
Index analysis
South Korea's Personal Data Protection Authority requested clarifications from DeepSeek regarding how it handles user-provided information, following similar actions by other countries including France and Ireland.
Governance controls
The ban was implemented on government computers connected to external networks across the three ministries.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.