The Personal Information Protection Commission (hereinafter referred to as the PIPC) announced on the 7th that it is closely analyzing the privacy policy of the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) service 'DeepSeek' amid ongoing security concerns regarding its collection and processing of personal information. The PIPC urged users to exercise caution until the final review results are available.
On the 31st of last month, the PIPC sent an official inquiry to the headquarters of DeepSeek (DeepSeek AI in Hangzhou and Beijing) to confirm the entity responsible for personal information processing, the items collected, and the methods of storage and sharing. It is currently waiting for a response from DeepSeek. The PIPC is precisely analyzing DeepSeek's privacy policy and terms of use while also constructing a real-use environment to technically review the data and traffic transmitted when using the service.
In this process, the PIPC is collaborating with domestic specialized agencies and relevant ministries. It is also in discussions with major national personal information supervisory authorities, including the UK's Information Commissioner's Office, France's National Commission on Informatics and Liberty, and Ireland's Data Protection Commission. Additionally, through the Korea-China Personal Information Protection Cooperation Center (KISA Beijing Office) in China, it is attempting direct communication with DeepSeek, while also planning to request cooperation through official diplomatic channels of the Korean government.
The PIPC stated, "We plan to distribute policy materials guiding privacy protection measures during the use of generative AI targeting public and private organizations in the first quarter," adding, "We intend to establish countermeasures based on comprehensive review results regarding DeepSeek in the future."