Tired of ads? Enjoy an ad-free experience by signing up.
👩‍🍳 How we use AI at Tech in Asia, thoughtfully and responsibly.
🧔‍♂️ A friendly human may check it before it goes live. More news here

South Korea gov’t blocks DeepSeek over data concerns

South Korea’s foreign and trade ministries have restricted access to the Chinese AI service DeepSeek due to concerns over user data collection.

This restriction applies to ministry computers connected to external networks.

Users on these systems see a message indicating the site is blocked.

The decision highlights ongoing global concerns about data privacy and security issues related to AI technologies.

Recent DeepSeek developments

Timeline
05-Feb-2025 ☁️ DeepSeek boosts cloud services for Chinese tech firms
  • Chinese tech firms integrate DeepSeek models.
  • Global companies like AWS and Azure also adopt.
02-Feb-2025 📊 DeepSeek tops global downloads, doubles ChatGPT’s launch
  • DeepSeek tops app charts, 16M downloads in 18 days
  • Cybersecurity risks lead to access restrictions worldwide
01-Feb-2025 💻 DeepSeek costs $500m, not publicly stated $6m: analysts
  • DeepSeek’s hardware costs exceed $500 million.
  • Offers $1.3M salaries to recruit top talent.
31-Jan-2025 ⚠️ DeepSeek-R1 produces ‘toxic output, biased content’: report
  • DeepSeek-R1 11x likelier to harm than OpenAI’s O1
  • Model generates toxic, biased, and insecure content
31-Jan-2025 🔒 DeepSeek faces global data security restrictions
  • Companies restrict DeepSeek AI due to privacy fears.
  • Data storage on Chinese servers raises security concerns.

Stay ahead in Asia’s tech landscape

You've reached your 2 free content limit for the month. Sign up for free to read the full story.

🏄 For casual readers / 👶 Free

Basic

US$0

Free forever

Get instant access to this article and more every month

0 premium content

Unlimited news briefs

5

5 articles

Ad-free reading experience

Just US$0 per day

⌛Sign up in 20s. No payment details needed.

📖 For learners / 👍 Starter

Lite

US$4.92/month

Billed annually at US$59/year

Get instant access to this article and more every month

4

4 premium content

Unlimited news briefs & articles

Ad-free reading experience

Just US$0.17 per day

Cancel anytime

Our subscriber community includes professionals from these companies:

Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.

Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.