South Korea has halted downloads of DeepSeek’s AI-powered chatbot while it conducts a review of the Chinese startup’s privacy practices.

The country’s privacy watchdog (called Personal Information Protection Commission or PIPC) announced this week it’s temporarily paused new downloads of the DeepSeek AI chatbot due to concerns about its handling of personal data.

This suspension, which took effect over the weekend, affects downloads from both the Apple and Google app stores, but the chatbot remains accessible via web browsers. The commission stated that the suspension will continue until the company ensures it complies with South Korea’s privacy laws.

In response, the company has appointed a legal representative in South Korea and admitted that it fell short of meeting local privacy requirements. It’s now reportedly taking steps to fully align with the necessary policies, but it hasn’t made a public statement about the issue yet.

China’s Foreign Ministry said Chinese companies are required to follow local laws when operating in foreign markets. Spokesman Guo Jiakun called on countries to refrain from “politicizing economic, trade, and technological matters.”

DeepSeek, a Chinese-developed AI chatbot, is a powerful ChatGPT alternative that’s proven to be pretty effective in its responses — even prompting OpenAI, Meta, and Google to race to address the growing popularity of the free, open-source tool.

At the same time, the tool has faced its fair share of international scrutiny over data security, potential censorship, and regulatory compliance.

The company said it built its AI system using far fewer high-end computer chips than its competitors, raising questions about how it managed to bypass US export restrictions intended to limit China’s access to advanced semiconductors.

Another concern raised by privacy experts is that DeepSeek is probably storing all data on servers in China. However, this isn’t that much different from Google or OpenAI, which store your information on their servers in the US.