South Korea accuses DeepSeek of sharing user data with TikTok owner

Wednesday 19 February 2025 - 15:20

South Korea has raised allegations against the Chinese AI company DeepSeek for allegedly sharing user data with ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. According to the Yonhap news agency, the South Korean data regulator revealed that DeepSeek had been in communication with ByteDance, though the specific user data exchanged remains unclear.

In response to security concerns, South Korea recently suspended new downloads of the DeepSeek AI application. The South Korean data protection law mandates that users provide explicit consent before sharing their data with third-party companies. DeepSeek has since acknowledged shortcomings in adhering to local data protection laws and has assigned a representative in South Korea to address these concerns.

DeepSeek's powerful AI model garnered attention when it emerged as a more cost-effective alternative to OpenAI's ChatGPT. However, it also raised alarms regarding data security. This controversy follows closely on the heels of TikTok's brief ban in the U.S. due to similar data security concerns. Bill Ackman, a U.S. entrepreneur, even called DeepSeek "a Trojan Horse," comparing TikTok unfavorably as "just a toy" by comparison.