South Korea has taken action against the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) platform DeepSeek over concerns about data security. The country’s defense ministry and police announced on Thursday that they had blocked access to DeepSeek on work computers. This decision came after the AI startup failed to respond to questions from South Korea’s data watchdog about how it handles user information.

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, launched its R1 chatbot in January. The company claims its technology can compete with leading AI firms in the United States while requiring much less investment. However, South Korea, along with countries like France and Italy, has raised concerns about DeepSeek’s data practices.

Authorities in these countries sent a formal request to DeepSeek, asking for details on how it manages user information. When the company did not respond, South Korea’s defense ministry decided to block access to the platform on military work computers. A spokesperson from the ministry stated that these actions were necessary to prevent possible leaks of sensitive data through generative AI services.

Following the defense ministry’s decision, South Korea’s police and trade ministry also restricted access to DeepSeek on government computers. The police confirmed that they had blocked the platform, while the trade ministry stated that access had been temporarily limited on all its devices.

South Korea is not the only country concerned about DeepSeek’s data security practices. Australia has also banned the AI platform from all government devices based on advice from its security agencies.