DeepSeek transferred data without consent, South Korean watchdog says
Al JazeeraAPR 9
South Korea Accuses DeepSeek of Illegal Data Transfers
Above: A photo illustration depicting a person holding a smartphone with the DeepSeek logo in the background, in Knurów, Poland, on April 20, 2025. Image copyright: Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
DeepSeek’s data processing policies clearly violated South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act, and the transfer of personal data abroad, especially to Chinese firms, posed significant privacy and national security risks. Accordingly, the PIPC has taken the right action by banning DeepSeek from South Korean app stores until the company abides by the country’s laws and regulations.
Pro-China narrative
China has always held itself to the highest standards concerning data protection and digital privacy rights and has never required Chinese companies, such as DeepSeek, to collect personal data through illegal means. It also cautions against actions, like those taken by the PIPC, which overstretch national security concepts and politicize fundamentally economic and technological issues.