Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) — Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd.
DeepSeek temporarily suspended its application service in Korea as of February 15, 2025, following a recommendation from the PIPC to enhance compliance with the Personal Information Protection Act. This action was taken after the PIPC's analysis identified issues with third-party data transfers and insufficient transparency in DeepSeek's privacy policy.
Key takeaway — how to prevent this
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Case brief
Read from the authority's press release on 2026-09-06. Every holding carries a short verbatim quote from that text.
- Decided by
- Personal Information Protection Commission
- Parties
- Personal Information Protection Commission v. DeepSeek
- Remedy
- DeepSeek temporarily suspended its application service in South Korea and removed its app from Apple's App Store and Google Play on February 15, 2025, to improve compliance with the Personal Information Protection Act.
- Appeal
- Appeal status not stated
Key holdings
The Personal Information Protection Commission identified third-party data transfers and insufficient privacy policy transparency during its analysis of DeepSeek.
“the PIPC’s analysis found out traffic generated by third-party data transfers and insufficient transparency in DeepSeek’s privacy policy.” — 1. Developments in Response to DeepSeek
The PIPC recommended that DeepSeek temporarily suspend its chatbot service until necessary legal updates are implemented.
“To mitigate further concerns, the PIPC recommended that DeepSeek temporarily suspend its chatbot service until necessary updates are implemented.” — 1. Developments in Response to DeepSeek
DeepSeek removed its application from major mobile app stores on February 15, 2025, following the PIPC recommendation.
“In agreement with this recommendation, DeepSeek removed its application from Apple’s App Store and Google Play on February 15, 2025.” — 1. Developments in Response to DeepSeek
Existing users were advised by the PIPC not to enter personal information into the chatbot until the examination is complete.
“The PIPC urges users to exercise caution and avoid entering personal information into the chatbot until the PIPC’s ex-ante examination is complete.” — 3. Advisory for Existing Users
In plain English
Following the launch of DeepSeek's R1 AI chatbot, South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission sent an inquiry to DeepSeek regarding personal data collection, processing bases, and data storage in China. The authority also analyzed the functioning of the chatbot and identified traffic from third-party data transfers alongside insufficient transparency in the privacy policy. On February 10, DeepSeek appointed a domestic agent in South Korea and acknowledged that it failed to account for legal requirements under the Personal Information Protection Act when launching globally. To prevent further concerns, the regulator recommended that DeepSeek temporarily suspend its service until required updates were completed. DeepSeek agreed and removed its application from Apple's App Store and Google Play on February 15, 2025. While new downloads were stopped, existing users remained able to access the service, prompting the regulator to advise users against entering personal information into the chatbot pending an ex-ante examination. The authority announced plans to monitor compliance, expedite its ongoing examination, introduce a compliance checklist for foreign AI developers, and push for legislative amendments to strengthen enforcement against foreign entities.
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