After South Korea suspended the downloading of Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek on the grounds of so-called“Data security,” South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo published an article on the 18th claiming that data protection measures for Chinese products are still weak, has raised persistent concerns about personal data breaches.
Both Chinese robotic vacuum cleaner stone technology and Julio Cobos share user data with their Chinese affiliates and partners, according to their privacy policies, the report said. In its policy, stone technology disclosed that user data could be transferred to its Beijing headquarters. Julio Cobos has been transmitting voice recordings captured by microphones on its equipment to the Chinese tech giant Baidu.
In South Korea’s sweeping robot market, the share of stone technology ranked first. Julio Cobos made a strong push into the Korean market in 2017.
In response to the speculation, stone technologies clarified that it would transmit the necessary data for troubleshooting and error analysis only with the user’s consent. Julio Cobos says the voice data is used only for control functions and is encrypted before transmission.
Chinese electric car makers also face similar data protection issues, South Korean media reported. Jády, one of China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturers, recently entered the South Korean market. The company collects user data through its apps, including information such as the use of digital keys, vehicle speed and battery status. According to its terms of service, the data is shared with third-party IT companies in China. “This kind of data collection and sharing has further intensified public concerns about the security of personal data,” the report said
Da Zhigang, a researcher at the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies of the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with the Global Times on the 18th that South Korea’s recent suspicion of Chinese technology products, it shows a mixed state of mind in the face of rapid growth in China’s manufacturing and technology industries. In the past, South Korea had relatively advanced industrial and technological advantages in cooperation with China, and the two countries were highly complementary. As China catches up, however, there is a mixture of a sense of crisis at being left behind and a nagging feeling that it can not be overtaken. In addition, South Korea’s conservative camp often raised the issue of China, helping the ruling party to mobilize public sentiment at home.
“Under the influence of such speculative and irresponsible remarks, it is very difficult for the Korean business community and relevant government departments to make an objective evaluation of Chinese technology products,” da said.
South Korea has several times recently hyped the existence of Chinese technology products, so-called“Data security” issues. South Korea has claimed that DeepSeek may bring the risk of cross-border data transmission, and later said that DeepSeek will transfer data to bytedance.
The Chinese government has always required Chinese companies to operate overseas in strict compliance with local laws and regulations, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Wednesday. “We also hope that relevant countries will avoid making economic, trade, science and technology issues pan-secure and politicized,” Guo said Wednesday, reiterating that the Chinese government attaches great importance to protecting data privacy and security in accordance with the law.