DeepSeek faces ban from Apple, Google app stores in Germany
Germany's data protection commissioner has asked Apple and Google to remove Chinese AI startup DeepSeek from their app stores in the country due to concerns about data protection, following a similar crackdown elsewhere.
Commissioner Meike Kamp said in a statement on Friday that she had made the request because DeepSeek illegally transfers users' personal data to China.
The two U.S. tech giants must now review the request promptly and decide whether to block the app in Germany, she added, though her office has not set a precise timeframe.
DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment. Apple and Google were not immediately available for comment.
According to its own privacy policy, DeepSeek stores numerous pieces of personal data, such as requests to its AI programme or uploaded files, on computers in China.
"DeepSeek has not been able to provide my agency with convincing evidence that German users' data is protected in China to a level equivalent to that in the European Union," Kamp said.
"Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies," she added.
The commissioner said she took the decision after asking DeepSeek in May to meet the requirements for non-EU data transfers or else voluntarily withdraw its app. DeepSeek did not comply with this request, she added.
DeepSeek shook the technology world in January with claims that it had developed an AI model to rival those from U.S. firms such as ChatGPT creator OpenAI at much lower cost.
However, it has come under scrutiny in the United States and Europe for its data security policies.
Italy blocked it from app stores there earlier this year, citing a lack of information on its use of personal data, while the Netherlands has banned it on government devices.
Belgium has recommended government officials not to use DeepSeek. "Further analyses are underway to evaluate the approach to be followed," a government spokesperson said.
In Spain, the consumer rights group OCU asked the government's data protection agency in February to investigate threats likely posed by DeepSeek, though no ban has come into force.
U.S. lawmakers plan to introduce a bill that would ban U.S. executive agencies from using any AI models developed in China.
Reuters exclusively reported this week that DeepSeek is aiding China's military and intelligence operations.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
Meta will only make limited changes to pay-or-consent model, EU says
Meta Platforms may face daily fines if EU regulators decide the changes it has proposed to its pay-or-consent model fail to comply with an antitrust order issued in April, they said on Friday. The warning from the European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, came two months after it slapped a 200-million-euro ($234 million) fine on the U.S. social media giant for breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA) aiming at curbing the power of Big Tech. The move shows the Commission's continuing crackdown against Big Tech and its push to create a level playing field for smaller rivals despite US criticism about the bloc's rules mainly targeting its companies. Daily fines for not complying with the DMA can be as much as 5% of a company's average daily worldwide turnover. The EU executive said Meta's pay-or-consent model introduced in November 2023 breached the DMA in the period up to November 2024, when it tweaked it to use less personal data for targeted advertising. The Commission has been scrutinising the changes since then. The model gives Facebook and Instagram users who consent to be tracked a free service that is funded by advertising revenues. Alternatively, they can pay for an ad-free service. The EU competition watchdog said Meta will only make limited changes to its pay-or-consent model rolled out last November. "The Commission cannot confirm at this stage if these are sufficient to comply with the main parameters of compliance outlined in its non-compliance Decision," a spokesperson said. "With this in mind, we will consider the next steps, including recalling that continuous non-compliance could entail the application of periodic penalty payments running as of 27 June 2025, as indicated in the non-compliance decision." Meta accused the Commission of discriminating against the company and for moving the goalposts during discussions over the last two months. "A user choice between a subscription for no ads service or a free ad supported service remains a legitimate business model for every company in Europe - except Meta," a Meta spokesperson said. "We are confident that the range of choices we offer people in the EU doesn't just comply with what the EU's rules require - it goes well beyond them." The EU watchdog dismissed Meta's discrimination charges, saying the DMA applies equally to all large digital companies doing business in the EU regardless of where they are incorporated or who their controlling shareholders are. "We have always enforced and will continue to enforce our laws fairly and without discrimination towards all companies operating in the EU, in full compliance with global rules," the Commission spokesperson said.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Trump has struck trade deals with 2 countries ahead of July 9; what about the others? What is India's position?
As the July 9 deadline set by the Donald Trump administration approaches soon, officials have struggled to strike trade deals with a lot of countries. In almost three months, the US has been able to sign trade agreements with just two countries, with Trump and his officials hinting that a long pipeline is in place. Countries failing to strike deals with the US within the July 9 deadline will face tariffs as was announced by Trump in April. The President however on Friday indicated that the deadline could be moved forward. 'We can do whatever we want. We could extend it. We could make it shorter. I'd like to make it shorter. I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations, you're paying 25 per cent,' he told reporters at the White House. Here's what you need to know about Donald Trump's trade deals. As of now, only two countries — China and UK — have signed trade deals with the US. 'The [Trump] administration and China agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement,' a White House official said on Thursday. That followed the talks in Geneva in May, where the US and China had agreed to reduce mutual tariffs. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg TV on Thursday that 'they [China] are going to deliver rare earths to us', and once Beijing does that 'we'll take down our countermeasures'. Trump signed an agreement on June 16, formally lowering some tariffs on imports from Britain as the countries continue working toward a formal trade deal. The deal, announced by Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada, reaffirmed quotas and tariff rates on British automobiles and eliminated tariffs on the U.K. aerospace sector, but the issue of steel and aluminum remains unresolved. While UK and China are the only countries that have signed trade deals with the US, Trump on Friday called off discussions with China, calling it a 'difficult country'. Trump abruptly ended the negotiations over its tax targeting US technology firms, saying that it was a "blatant attack" and that he would set a new tariff rate on Canadian goods within the next week. Majority of the trade partners of US, including South Korea, Vietnam and EU countries, are struggling to sign deals with America. Countries like France have rejected the notion of striking a deal that favours the US, and have proposed removal of tariffs altogether. Some EU member states have also rejected the idea of a tit-for-tat tarif, and are preferring a quick deal to a perfect one. India and Japan are considered to be the next countries that could strike trade deals with the US. 'But some of the bigger countries, India, I think we're going to reach a deal where we have the right to go in and trade. Right now, it's restricted. You can't walk in there. You can't even think about it,' Trump told reporters on Friday.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
What is common between Sam Altman and Sundar Pichai? Both of them went to...
One built a chatbot that sounds eerily human. The other turned a web browser into a global tech empire. One dropped out of college. The other stacked degrees like power-ups in a calculated climb to the top. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now And yet, both and ended up in the same place: the summit of the tech world. So what do the CEO of and the CEO of and Alphabet actually have in common? Well, somewhere between the lines of AI ethics, world tours, Chrome tabs, and viral ChatGPT prompts, there's a quiet little academic overlap. That's right — both Altman and spent time at Stanford University, the Hogwarts of Silicon Valley, where tech dreams are brewed with equal parts code and caffeine. But don't let the shared zip code fool you: their paths couldn't be more different. One chose rebellion (read: dropped out). The other chose refinement (read: Stanford and Wharton). One bet on startup chaos. The other steered a tech empire with calm precision. Yet here they are, running the digital universe from opposite ends of the AI spectrum. Let's rewind the tape and meet the men behind the algorithms. Sam Altman: Dropped out, then reprogrammed the future Before he was crisscrossing the globe as the face of OpenAI, Sam Altman was just a kid obsessed with computers and curious about how the world worked. Fast forward a few decades, and he's one of the most influential figures shaping the future of artificial intelligence. From dropping out of Stanford to launching billion-dollar ventures, Altman's career has been anything but traditional — but every move has been calculated, ambitious, and unmistakably bold. Hacking before it was cool Born in 1985 in Chicago and raised in St. Louis, Sam Altman's tech journey began with an Apple Macintosh and a screwdriver. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now At age 8, while most kids were figuring out Mario Kart, Altman was busy pulling apart computers and learning how to code. That early obsession would become the blueprint for a future in high-stakes innovation. Stanford: Brief but pivotal Altman attended John Burroughs School, an elite private school in Missouri, before heading to Stanford University to study computer science. But Stanford couldn't hold him for long. After just two years, he dropped out at age 19 to co-found Loopt, a location-based social networking app. The startup didn't exactly change the world, but it raised over $30 million in funding and sold for $43 million — not bad for a college dropout. The Y combinator era In 2011, Altman joined Y Combinator, Silicon Valley's premier startup accelerator, as a part-time partner. By 2014, he was its president, guiding the next generation of tech disruptors. Under his leadership, YC backed some of today's biggest names, including Airbnb, Dropbox, and Stripe, and expanded its vision to support 'hard tech' innovations like energy and biotech. The OpenAI revolution begins In 2015, Altman co-founded OpenAI with a mission to develop artificial intelligence that would benefit all of humanity. That mission eventually led to the creation of ChatGPT, a chatbot so sophisticated it's now writing essays, poems, speeches — and sometimes even startup pitches. OpenAI has since become a household name in the AI arms race. Crypto experiment with Worldcoin Just when you thought it couldn't get weirder, Altman helped launch Worldcoin, a bold — and controversial — project that scans people's irises to verify identity in exchange for cryptocurrency. The aim? A form of universal basic income and digital authentication. The reality? Global privacy debates and biometric skepticism. Though he never finished at Stanford, Altman doesn't need a diploma to validate his impact. The campus may not have handed him a cap and gown, but it did give him what he needed most: a launchpad to become one of tech's most influential minds. Sundar Pichai: The strategist who engineered Google's future Before he was leading one of the most powerful companies in the world, Sundar Pichai was just a kid in Chennai with a steel-trap memory and a fascination for numbers. While his classmates were scribbling notes, he could recall phone numbers with eerie precision — a nerdy talent that would someday power a career built on information, access, and innovation. Humble beginnings in Chennai Born in 1972 in Madurai, India, Pichai grew up in a middle-class Tamil household in Chennai. His father worked as an electrical engineer, while his mother was a stenographer. The family didn't own a telephone until Sundar was 12, but when they did, he was the one who memorized every number dialed — unknowingly foreshadowing his future in data-driven tech. From Metallurgy to Management Pichai's academic path was a globe-spanning masterclass in intellectual rigor: IIT Kharagpur: He earned a in Metallurgical Engineering, one of India's toughest disciplines at one of its most prestigious institutions. He earned a in Metallurgical Engineering, one of India's toughest disciplines at one of its most prestigious institutions. Stanford University: There, he pursued a Master's in Materials Science and Engineering, walking the same halls that Sam Altman would later briefly attend. There, he pursued a Master's in Materials Science and Engineering, walking the same halls that Sam Altman would later briefly attend. Wharton School of Business: He rounded off his education with an MBA, graduating as both a Siebel Scholar and Palmer Scholar, elite honors awarded to top-performing students. The browser that changed everything Pichai joined Google in 2004, and instead of diving straight into Search or Android, he focused on something overlooked at the time — the web browser. Leading the development of Google Chrome, he helped turn it into the fastest, most user-friendly gateway to the internet. Chrome's success became his calling card. From there, his rise was swift and strategic. He eventually took charge of: Gmail Google Maps Android ChromeOS He also became the go-to tech executive for major product launches and keynote moments. CEO of Google, then Alphabet In 2015, Pichai was named CEO of Google, a quiet but powerful promotion that signaled deep trust from the company's founders. By 2019, he was promoted again — this time to CEO of Alphabet, Google's parent company, overseeing one of the largest and most influential corporate ecosystems on the planet. The calm eye in tech's storm Unlike many Silicon Valley leaders, Pichai isn't known for big swings or fiery speeches. Instead, he brings a calm, thoughtful presence to the chaos — quietly managing billion-dollar products, fielding tough questions from governments, and navigating crises with an engineer's logic. While Sam Altman is busy pitching AGI and Worldcoin, Pichai is managing global platforms, writing ethical AI policies, and trying to keep the internet running (and responsible) for billions. Same campus, different missions So yes, they both went to Stanford. But while Altman saw it as a springboard out, Pichai treated it as a rung up. Altman's journey is a Silicon Valley fever dream — all risk, ambition, and moonshots. Pichai's path is more like a perfectly structured algorithm — optimized, calculated, and globally scalable. Altman is the experimental artist; Pichai, the master engineer. Together, they represent two sides of tech's future: Altman is building the tools to think for us. Pichai is managing the systems that know everything about us. The dropout and the scholar who rewired the world It turns out, there's no single path to becoming a tech icon. You can drop out or graduate with honors, scan eyeballs or launch browsers — as long as you think big, build bold, and maybe, just maybe, spend a little time in Palo Alto. Because whether you're asking ChatGPT to draft your essay or searching Google for how to cook quinoa, you're standing on the shoulders of two Stanford-touched minds who couldn't be more different — and more alike.
