Key Points
- Germany’s data protection commissioner has requested that Apple and Google ban the Chinese AI app DeepSeek.
- The app is accused of illegally sending German user data to China, where EU privacy laws do not protect it.
- The German official allowed DeepSeek to rectify the problem, but the company failed to comply.
- This follows similar moves by other European countries, with Italy already banning the app and the Netherlands banning it from government devices.
Germany’s top data protection official has requested that Apple and Google remove the popular Chinese AI startup DeepSeek from their app stores. The commissioner states that the app is illegally transferring the personal data of German users to China, where it is not properly protected.
In a statement on Friday, Commissioner Meike Kamp said she requested an investigation because DeepSeek’s privacy policy clearly states that it stores user data, including their AI requests and uploaded files, on computers in China. She argued that Chinese authorities have “far-reaching access rights” to data held by Chinese companies, a level of access that is not allowed under strict European Union privacy laws.
Kamp said she had given DeepSeek a chance to fix the problem. In May, she asked the company to either meet EU data protection standards or voluntarily pull its app from the German market. When DeepSeek didn’t comply, she took the step of formally requesting that Apple and Google block it.
This is not the first time DeepSeek has run into trouble in the West. The company made big waves in the tech world earlier this year by claiming its AI model could rival ChatGPT at a much lower cost. But since then, it has faced growing scrutiny over its data security. Italy has already blocked the app from its app stores, and the Netherlands has banned it on all government devices.
Apple and Google must now review the request from Germany and decide whether to remove DeepSeek.
