S. Korea says DeepSeek transferred data to Chinese company without consent

DeepSeek's R1 chatbot stunned investors and industry insiders in January with its ability to match the functions of its Western competitors at a fraction of the cost. "Initially, DeepSeek transferred personal data to companies located in China and the United States without obtaining users' consent or disclosing this in the privacy policy at the time the service was launched," commission official Nam Seok told reporters. Asked about the data transfer to Volcano Engine, DeepSeek said it was sent "for the purpose of addressing security vulnerabilities and improving user interface and experience", Nam said.