South Korea’s intelligence agency has accused the Chinese AI application DeepSeek of unlawfully collecting personal user data and using it for self-learning. Reuters reported this, citing an official statement from the authorities.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) issued a warning to government agencies, urging them to take precautionary measures when using the AI system.

“Unlike other generative AI services, DeepSeek can transmit chat records and track keyboard input patterns, which allows for user identification and data transfer to Chinese company servers, including volceapplog.com,” the NIS stated.

Some South Korean government departments have already restricted access to the application.

According to intelligence reports, DeepSeek provides advertisers with unrestricted access to user data and stores it on servers in China. Under Chinese law, the government can request this information at any time.

The NIS also highlighted that the app gives different answers depending on the language. For example, when asked about kimchi in Korean, it describes it as a traditional Korean dish. However, when asked the same question in Chinese, it claims the dish originates from China.

Additionally, DeepSeek has been accused of political censorship. When users attempt to inquire about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, the AI suggests “discussing another topic” instead.

Previously, the application had already been banned in several regions, including Italy, Taiwan, Australia, Texas, and certain U.S. government agencies.