DeepSeek accused of giving user data to TikTok owner

South Korea has accused the Chinese AI company DeepSeek of sharing user data with TikTok’s owner, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The South Korean data regulator said DeepSeek was communicating with ByteDance, although it has not yet confirmed what user data was shared between the companies.

Read more: What is DeepSeek?

Over the weekend, the country suspended new downloads of the AI app over security concerns.

Users must give explicit permission for their data to be shared with third-party companies under South Korean law.

In response to South Korea’s concerns, DeepSeek assigned a representative in South Korea and acknowledged shortcomings in the way it had considered local protection laws, according to Yonhap.

When DeepSeek unveiled its powerful AI model, it sent shockwaves through the Western tech industry by being as powerful but significantly cheaper than OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

However, alarm bells were quickly raised over security.

Just weeks before, TikTok, another Chinese tech firm, was briefly banned in the US over concerns about the security of user data.

When DeepSeek appeared, US entrepreneur Bill Ackman described DeepSeek as “a Trojan Horse” and said TikTok “is just a toy by comparison”.