- DeepSeek is being accused of sharing user data with TikTok
- TikTok faces pressure from many over its link to the Chinese government
- DeepSeek is a Chinese AI product similar to ChatGPT
DeepSeek and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, have been accused of sharing user data by the South Korean government.
“We confirmed DeepSeek communicating with ByteDance,” the South Korea data protection regulator PIPC told Yonhap News Agency.
They said they “found out traffic generated by third-party data transfers and insufficient transparency in DeepSeek’s privacy policy.”
According to reports, it is apparently working with the regulator and admitted it did not adhere to South Korea’s privacy laws. However, currently, it is unavailable in South Korean app stores.
What is DeepSeek?
The app is a Chinese Artificial Intelligence service very similar to ChatGPT. It prompted chaos when it wiped billions from stock markets worldwide when it was revealed to be much cheaper to train than alternatives.
i asked deepseek how to live laugh love and it told me to ask openai
— Hadas Weiss (@weiss_hadas) January 28, 2025
What other countries have banned DeepSeek?
The United States introduced a bill that seeks to ban people from using the app or other AI services made in China. If it becomes law, violations could lead to up to 20 years in prison.
Australia also implemented a ban on government-issued devices and called the app a “national security risk”.
Read more: Is TikTok actually getting banned?
What did Donald Trump say about DeepSeek?
In late January, President Donald Trump called the AI app a “wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win”.
The Commander-in-Chief went on to say how he had “reading about China” and its companies, in particular one that had come up with a “faster method of AI and [a] much less expensive method”.
“That’s good because you don’t have to spend as much money. I view that as a positive, as an asset,” Trump continued.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the parent comapany of ChatGPT, remarked it “invigorating to have a new competitor”.
Didn’t TikTok get banned?
TikTok was axed in the US by federal lawmakers over similar concerns. However, it was brought back just hours after the app went dark back in January.
Upon its return, the video-sharing app thanked President Donald Trump for his role in bringing it back.
In the immediate aftermath of its reprisal, TikTok was unavailable on Google and Apple app stores in the US. However, this is no longer the case. Users can download it once more onto Android and iOs devices.
