German Watchdog Challenges DeepSeek App Presence in App Stores, Urges Apple, Google to Take Action
The Chinese artificial intelligence model DeepSeek, which shook the entire AI sector by its launch, has found itself in trouble in one of the European countries. A German privacy regulator has issued a formal notice of compelled action to tech giants Apple and Google over the availability of the Chinese artificial intelligence app on their app stores.
The move reflects increasing anxiety in Europe about what Chinese tech services do with the personal data of people who use them, particularly when users have no idea how their information can be cross-referenced or pointed abroad.
"The AI app breaks data protection laws and will not be available in Berlin," Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection Meike Kamp said on Friday. Her office stated that DeepSeek did not reply to its earlier requests to take its app off the German market or ensure that the data of European users is safe. The main point of concern remains the potential for personal information collected from German users to be accessed by Chinese authorities, where these users do not have the same privacy rights as those guaranteed under EU law.
"Chinese authorities have very extensive access to personal data," Kamp explained. "EU citizens using DeepSeek also lack enforceable rights or protection in China."
In January, DeepSeek, a startup in Hangzhou, grabbed global attention with its R1 large language model. The company said its A.I. platform was equivalent to the best technology from OpenAI and Google except that it ran on less powerful chips (Nvidia H800s) and cost less to develop, under $6 million. Its promise of low cost and high efficiency has been hailed as game-changing in the AI world.
But now the app's ascent is getting regulatory pushback in Europe. The German regulator is invoking the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) because DeepSeek has disregarded numerous requests for compliance. The law forces technology platforms, such as Apple's App Store and Google Play, to ensure illegal material, including apps posing data risks, is removed or restricted.
Apple and Google are now facing calls to reconsider the notification and intervene. Though Kamp said she could have issued a fine to DeepSeek, enforcement was an international challenge. And so the buck passes to the platforms that host the app.
It's not the first time that European regulators have taken aim at Chinese AI apps. Italy's privacy authority expressed similar concerns this year over the way Chinese services may treat sensitive information of European users.
Technology and international data governance are intersecting as geopolitical tensions rise and AI tools take over; they are also turning into flashpoints. Also, European nations are strengthening privacy rules that would protect their citizens from foreign surveillance or from having their data mishandled.
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