On work computers, South Korea’s defense and trade ministries said on Thursday they have blocked entry to DeepSeek. After the nation’s data protection agency asked the Chinese AI business for information on how it manages customer data, this step followed. Last month, DeepSeek debuted its R1 chatbot, which it said would put it in competition with leading US artificial intelligence companies on a small fraction of the cost.
Deepsert’s data policies have drawn negative reactions from countries such France, Italy, and South Korea who are asking the company for additional information. While the trade ministry said the temporary restriction covered all agency PCs, the South Korean defense ministry verified the prohibition of military internet-connected devices.
A ministry official said, “Blocking measures for DeepSeek have been implemented geared for military work-connected PCs with Internet.” The trade department noted that the firm had not yet answered to the Personal Information Protection Commission’s query.
DeepSeek’s R1 chatbot is under investigation by Italy and it has been barred from handling Italian user data. Likewise, Australia has prohibited DeepSeek from government devices according to guidance from security agencies. DeepSeek argues that it used H800 chips, less sophisticated ones available for sale to China until 2023 under U.S. export controls, to drive its artificial intelligence model.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK hynix moreover are big sources of sophisticated chips for artificial intelligence servers.