DeepSeek puts user data at risk: German watchdog asks Apple, Google to remove Chinese AI app from app stores
A top German privacy regulator has warned Apple Inc and Google's Android that Chinese AI service DeepSeek, which is available on their app stores, constitutes illegal content because it exposes users' data to Chinese authorities.
The formal notification comes after DeepSeek ignored an official request in May to either pull its app from app stores in Germany or ensure safeguards are put in place when collecting local users' data and transmitting it to China, Berlin data protection commissioner Meike Kamp said in a statement on Friday.
'Chinese authorities have far-reaching rights to access personal data,' Kamp said. 'DeepSeek users don't have enforceable rights and effective legal remedies available to them in China, like they're guaranteed in the European Union,' reported Bloomberg.
Hangzhou-based DeepSeek shocked the global tech industry in January with its R1 large language model, which the Chinese startup claimed could rival much larger US systems at a fraction of the cost. The Chinese AI service provider is competitive with industry leaders like OpenAI and Google.
During its launch, DeepSeek had claimed that it took just two months and cost under $6 million to build an AI model using Nvidia's less-advanced H800 chips.
After the Chinese app ignored requests to comply after several requests, the Berlin agency invoked a provision of the EU's Digital Services Act, which puts the responsibility on tech platforms like Apple and Google to take down illegal content on their platforms, the news agency said.
They both must now swiftly review the notice and decide on how to comply, according to Kamp. While the regulator could have also fined DeepSeek, Kamp decided against it, because she wouldn't be able to enforce the penalty in China.
The German move follows a similar step by Italy's privacy regulator in January, Bloomberg reported.
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