DeepSeek Under Scrutiny: Data Sharing with TikTok Owner Sparks Concern

South Korea has accused the Chinese AI firm DeepSeek of sharing user data with ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. The South Korean data protection authority, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), has confirmed communications between DeepSeek and ByteDance.

The country has already removed DeepSeek from app stores due to concerns regarding data privacy. The PIPC told Yonhap News Agency that while they identified a connection between DeepSeek and ByteDance, they have not yet determined the specifics of the data exchanged or the extent of such transfers.

DeepSeek's rapid rise in popularity propelled it to the top of the App Store rankings in the UK, US, and various other nations. In South Korea, the app accumulated over a million downloads prior to its removal from Apple and Google’s App Stores. Current users can still access the app via web browsers.

The Chinese application created a stir in the AI sector in January, leading to a loss of billions in global stock markets after claims emerged that its new model was developed at a significantly lower cost compared to American competitors like ChatGPT. Following these events, numerous countries have raised alarms about the potential mishandling of user data. In February, a US cybersecurity firm suggested a possible data-sharing arrangement between DeepSeek and ByteDance.

DeepSeek has assigned a representative in South Korea and acknowledged shortcomings in the way it had considered local protection laws, according to Yonhap.

Critics of the Chinese government have long contended that the National Intelligence Law permits state access to any data held by Chinese enterprises. ByteDance, based in Beijing, is backed by several international investors, and some assert that the same law also safeguards private companies and personal information. According to ByteDance, the link being made between the two companies is because one of the cloud services used by DeepSeek in China is from a firm called Volcano Engine, which is owned by ByteDance, but does not mean it has access to DeepSeek data.