Using DeepSeek is a ‘personal choice,’ UK govt says amid South Korea ban: Report

South Korea became the latest country to limit access to the new AI app due to privacy concerns, following Taiwan, Australia, and Italy.

Downloading the Chinese Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot DeepSeek is a “personal choice” for the public, the UK government has said, according to a report by British news agency PA Media.

The ban makes South Korea the latest government to warn about DeepSeek.(AP)

This comes at a time when South Korea became the latest country to limit access to the new AI app due to privacy concerns. New downloads of the app have been paused in the country.

The UK government has however said that it is keeping new technologies under constant review.

When DeepSeek was released earlier this year, it completely shook the AI world as it claimed to offer similar performance to established Silicon Valley giants such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, but for a fraction of the developmental costs.

Why was DeepSeek restricted or banned in some countries?

However, the company's Chinese origins and the fact that it stores data on servers in China has raised privacy and security concerns around the world due to fears of the Chinese government possibly using the data for surveillance or intelligence.

Taiwan and Australia have banned it from government devices, while Italy banned it outright, and the US has proposed legislation for a ban.

When it came to the UK, the report quoted a spokesperson from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as saying that “the use of DeepSeek is a personal choice for members of the public. AI technologies have the power to transform our society, but any new tools that become available must have security built in from the outset to keep user data safe. ”

“Through our new blueprint for AI, we have also set out a bold vision to ensure that Britain becomes a global magnet for innovation – ensuring future waves of game-changing technology are developed on our shores,” the spokesperson added.

The UK however has strict rules around apps allowed on official government devices with China-based ByteDance-owned TikTok being banned on such devices.