South Korea has blocked access to DeepSeek AI services from government devices, joining a list of companies and countries taking action to limit usage of the Chinese startup’s artificial intelligence chatbot due to security concerns.

The South Korean government is conducting a security review of the service, the foreign ministry said, declining to confirm what specific safety measures it has taken. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has temporarily restricted access to DeepSeek in computers that can connect externally, it said in a text message to Bloomberg News.

Australia has banned DeepSeek AI services from all government systems and devices, while Italy ordered for it to be blocked to protect consumers’ data. Ireland has asked for more information from the company over potential breaches of European Union privacy law.

China’s foreign ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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