Deepseek, the Chinese Artificial Intelligence sensation, has been banned on Apple and Google App stores in Italy since the country’s data protection authority requested information on personal data.
“The news of the withdrawal of the app was only a few hours ago, I cannot say whether it is due to us or not,” Pasquale Stanzione, the head of the Italian data regulator, said.
“Our office will launch an in-depth investigation to see if GDPR rules are being respected,” Stanzione added.
Garante, the Italian regulator, said it wanted to know what personal data is collected, from which sources, for what purposes, on what legal basis, and whether it is stored in China. It gave DeepSeek and its affiliated companies 20 days to respond.
Read also: Alibaba launches AI model to challenge Deepseek
Italian customers noted that the Apple app store displayed a notice saying, “currently not available in the country or area you are in.” A similar message on the Google app store said the download “was not supported” in Italy.
Despite these notices, DeepSeek still seemed to be operational for Italian users who had previously downloaded the app.
Similarly, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission had also requested information from DeepSeek about data processing regarding Irish users.
According to reports, the German government is monitoring AI applications for potential interference before the Feb. 23 national elections.
“Of course, the security authorities are concerned with AI applications and possible manipulation, possible influence on the formation of public opinion through AI applications, especially now in view of the Bundestag elections,” a German spokesperson said.
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