Wave of tightening regulations related to DeepSeek spreads in many countries

Due to concerns about data security, more and more countries are tightening regulations related to the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot platform called R1 developed by the startup DeepSeek. However, the widespread wave of DeepSeek bans also poses a strategic problem for countries in the global technology race.

In January, Chinese company DeepSeek turned the global tech industry upside down and wiped billions of dollars off the stock market value of American tech companies after launching its R1 program.

Notably, this AI model is said to operate on Nvidia's semiconductor chips, which are lower in cost but still achieve high performance.

However, from Europe to Asia, governments in many countries have taken measures to control and limit DeepSeek's model on the grounds of protecting data from the risk of leakage.

Italy is the first country in Europe to open an investigation and temporarily block the app from owning Italian users' data.

In South Korea, several government agencies, including the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Unification, have banned DeepSeek's model from computer systems due to data security concerns.

In the latest move, on February 18, the government of this Northeast Asian country also announced that it would temporarily remove DeepSeek's AI model from application distribution platforms in the country while waiting for Korean authorities to evaluate how DeepSeek handles users' personal data.

Australia has taken similar steps.

In the US, lawmakers have introduced the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act,” which would ban all federal employees from using DeepSeek on government-issued devices.

In it, Congressman Darin LaHood called DeepSeek's application an "alarming national security threat." The governments of Texas, Virginia, and New York also issued orders banning the use of DeepSeek on government devices.

DeepSeek has a provision for providing personal data to third parties, similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT. However, experts point out that while US companies often resist government requests for data, in China, companies are obliged to provide user data when the government requests it.

Professor Youm Heung Youl of Soonchunhyang University (South Korea) explains that it is the difference in the approach to privacy between the West and China that shapes the level of trust countries have in DeepSeek.

DeepSeek's privacy policy also allows for the collection of data on users' "keystroke patterns or rhythms" to analyze individual user interaction behavior.

In response to concerns from many countries, China said that the above bans do not reflect the legitimate concerns of countries about security and data privacy, but are political measures in the current economic, trade and technological competition.

The Chinese government insists it never asks businesses or individuals to illegally collect or store data.

According to Professor Park Seung Chan of Yongin University (South Korea), DeepSeek was officially launched in May 2023 and the launch of the R1 application seems too quick. However, experts have pointed out China's technological development when the country has invested heavily in the field of research and development (R&D) for many years.

China is now the world's second-largest R&D investor, behind only the United States, with 11-fold growth over the past decade, according to data from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Therefore, Professor Park believes that other countries need to increase investment in the software sector to maintain a competitive advantage in the global AI race.