The South Korean government has suspended new downloads of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI model, after confirming that it had transferred the personal data of over 1.2 million Korean users to ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. While third-party data sharing requires explicit user consent, DeepSeek failed to comply, automatically transmitting user information to ByteDance as soon as the app was accessed.
The Chinese government has criticized South Korea’s ban on DeepSeek, urging the country not to politicize economic, trade, scientific, and technological issues. However, considering China’s long history of illegal data collection worldwide, such objections are hard to take seriously. The United States has already banned TikTok for national security reasons.
DeepSeek faces backlash for gathering a wide range of personal data, including users' birthdates, names, email addresses, text and voice inputs, photos, files, and even keyboard patterns. This information is allegedly stored on Chinese servers and shared automatically with Chinese platform companies. There are also suspicions that the app contains hidden code that transmits user data to China’s state-run telecom operators.
DeepSeek is just one example. China is accused of using Huawei telecom equipment, port cranes, social media platforms like TikTok, and e-commerce sites such as AliExpress and Temu as tools for global, indiscriminate data collection. Concerns extend to Chinese-made electric vehicles, robot vacuums, and home security cameras, which may serve as data-gathering devices. Under China’s National Intelligence Law, all organizations and citizens are required to support and cooperate with state intelligence activities, which are ultimately overseen by the Chinese Communist Party.
While the U.S. and Japan have implemented cybersecurity laws to safeguard national data, South Korea has yet to establish a centralized cybersecurity authority. The proposed National Cybersecurity Basic Act, designed to address foreign data leaks, has been stalled in parliament for over a decade. Without a comprehensive legal framework, individuals must stay cautious about potential data exposure when using Chinese products and services.
