ChatGPT rival DeepSeek faces another ban

China-based AI company DeepSeek has now been banned in South Korea, following Australia and Italy. The government has imposed restrictions on public institutions due to security concerns.

Reaching millions of users in over 120 countries, DeepSeek continues to face bans over data privacy and security risks.

South Korea restricts DeepSeek over security concerns

For those who missed it, DeepSeek AI, one of ChatGPT’s biggest competitors, gained attention with its R1 chatbot, launched in January. Marketed as a low-cost yet high-performance AI model, DeepSeek made waves in the tech industry. However, it has recently been under scrutiny for privacy and data security issues.

Reports suggest that DeepSeek collects a vast range of user data, including IP addresses, chat histories, uploaded files, and even keystroke patterns .

South Korea’s ban follows similar restrictions in Italy and Australia, where government agencies cited security risks as the main reason for the crackdown. However, individual users in South Korea are not affected by the restriction.

Additionally, the U.S. Navy and the state of Texas have also introduced restrictions on DeepSeek's usage. However, there is no nationwide ban in the U.S.—at least, not yet.