Ministry of Culture Blocks DeepSeek... Concerns Over Personal Information Leakage

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 6th that it has blocked access to the Chinese generative artificial intelligence (AI) service DeepSeek.

In a notice, the ministry stated, "Access to DeepSeek from computers with external connections has been blocked until the safety regarding the leakage of key information such as administrative data related to the use of DeepSeek is confirmed."

It added, "The ministry will guide all employees, affiliates, and public institutions on security precautions when using generative AI services in cooperation with the National Intelligence Service and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and plans to conduct education on the safe use of AI."

DeepSeek is known to excessively collect users' basic information during its self-learning process. Accordingly, several government ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of National Defense have also announced blocking access to DeepSeek.