DeepSeek ignores allegations of violating user privacy

DeepSeek has not responded to allegations that it violated users' privacy by sharing their information with TikTok's parent company, ByteDance.

Banned in South Korea

News of the DeepSeek chatbot ban in South Korea  emerged  on February 17 after the country's Personal Data Protection Commission confirmed that DeepSeek had transferred user data to ByteDance.

The company has not since issued any statement confirming or denying the allegations.

China's defense raises questions

It has long been said that Chinese-origin social media platforms, and especially artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, are loyal to the Chinese Communist Party.

It was on this basis that the Biden administration suspended TikTok in the US. DeepSeek, which appeared not too long ago, was also at the center of suspicion.

This chatbot has been banned to varying degrees in different countries, but none of them have had such specific allegations as in South Korea.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, DeepSeek has remained rather evasive on the matter. Instead, it was the Chinese government that took the defensive.

On Monday, it was widely reported that the Chinese government had asked South Korea to reconsider the ban and not politicize the incident.

This raises questions, such as why the Chinese government is defending an AI company when the owners don't seem to care.

Are the accusations true?

TikTok was accused of sharing data with the Chinese Communist Party, which ultimately led to its ban in the US. However, the social media platform did not have the kind of support that DeepSeek has.

Shortly after the talks, a supporter of the bot startup, who is also vice president of the Center for China and Globalization, defended the company, claiming that the US was trying to suppress it. 

With this trend, suspicion of any Chinese software is likely to increase in other countries as well .