Italy blocks Chinese DeepSeek over privacy concerns

Italy blocks Chinese DeepSeek over privacy concerns

Italian privacy regulator Garante has blocked Chinese AI assistant DeepSeek because of insufficient information about its use of personal data. The decision follows a request for information.

Garante wanted to know what personal data is collected, what sources it comes from, what purposes it is used for, and whether it is stored in China. But the Italian regulator deemed the available information as insufficient. “Contrary to the authority’s findings, the companies declared that they do not operate in Italy, and that European legislation does not apply to them,” the statement said.

The blockade took effect immediately, which means DeepSeek is no longer available in Apple and Google’s Italian app stores. This action is part of a broader pattern of European privacy interventions, similar to the earlier blockade of ChatGPT in Italy. There are also concerns in other parts of the world about DeepSeek’s privacy standards. It remains to be seen, however, whether other countries will also take steps with a possible blockade and how, if at all, they will apply it.

DeepSeek, which recently launched a free AI assistant that the company says uses less data at a lower cost, had surpassed ChatGPT in downloads on Apple’s App Store.

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