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DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup that made waves earlier this year with its low-cost model, is now staring at a bleak future in Europe after Germany’s data protection commissioner, Meike Kamp, asked Apple and Google to ban the app from their respective app stores.
While it remains to be seen whether Apple and Google comply with Germany’s request to block DeepSeek in the country, Germany joins the growing list of countries seeking to ban or restrict the use of DeepSeek due to data privacy concerns.
“According to its own information, the service processes extensive personal data of users, including all text input, chat histories and uploaded files, as well as information about the location, the devices and networks used. The user’s personal data collected: the service transmits to Chinese processors and stores them on servers in China,” says the German watchdog in its report.
To be sure, several countries have expressed similar concerns over TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance. Several countries banned the app, while some others restricted its use by government employees.
Germany Asks Apple and Google to Ban DeepSeek
Coming back to Germany’s ban on DeepSeek, in the release, Kamp said, “The transfer of user data by DeepSeek to China is illegal. DeepSeek has not been able to convincingly demonstrate to my authority that data of German users: women in China are protected at an equivalent level of the European Union.”
He added, “Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies. In addition, users of DeepSeek in China do not have any enforceable rights and effective remedies at their disposal, as guaranteed in the European Union.”
Specifically, Kamp accused DeepSeek of violating Art. 46 para. 1 GDPR and said it asked the company to independently remove the app for Germany, which it did not comply with. As a result, the company was forced to ask Google and Apple to remove the app from their app stores.
Chinese companies may be forced to share user data with the government as per laws, and even as TikTok has also tried reassuring that it does not share user data with the Chinese government, not many buy that argument.
Europe Has Strong Data Protection Laws
In essence, Germany’s action is rooted in the fundamental difference between China’s data governance framework, which allows significant government access to data, and the EU’s rights-based approach to data privacy. Notably, the EU has one of the most stringent data protection and privacy laws, and is frequently at loggerheads with US tech giants like Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Apple.
Meanwhile, Germany has joined the growing list of countries that have either banned DeepSeek or have restricted its use. Italy was one of the first countries to ban DeepSeek’s AI, removing its app from app stores due to concerns about how it handles user data and compliance with EU data protection laws.
Some Other Countries Have Also Banned DeepSeek
Australia banned government workers from installing and using DeepSeek’s AI app on government systems and devices due to security concerns and a national intelligence assessment finding it to be an “unacceptable security risk.”
India has also advised some government officials not to use any AI tools or apps, including DeepSeek, on office devices due to data safety risks. However, the country hasn’t explicitly banned DeepSeek even as it was among the first to ban TikTok following a border clash with China in 2020.
Taiwan also banned government agencies, public schools, and state-owned enterprises from using DeepSeek, citing risks of cross-border data transmission and information leaks. South Korea also banned DeepSeek, but the country allowed downloads in April.
The US Has Put Some Restrictions
While there is no federal ban on DeepSeek, the US has also imposed several restrictions on DeepSeek. Similar to Germany’s concerns, the US is worried about DeepSeek’s data storage practices, as data is primarily stored on servers in China, making it potentially accessible to Chinese authorities.
Several federal agencies, including the Department of Commerce, the U.S. Navy, NASA, and the Pentagon, have banned DeepSeek on their government-issued devices and networks. The US Congress has also prohibited its employees from installing DeepSeek on official devices.
States like Texas, New York, Virginia, Nebraska, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama, Iowa, South Dakota, North Carolina, Arkansas, North Dakota, Kansas, and Georgia have issued orders restricting the use of DeepSeek.
There is bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress for legislation that would expand the ban on DeepSeek to all federal government devices, mirroring the “No TikTok on Government Devices Act.” The White House is also reportedly considering broader measures.
Will the EU Ban DeepSeek?
Meanwhile, some believe that Germany’s ban on DeepSeek could be a precursor to an EU-wide ban on the Chinese AI app.
“It is certainly possible that this incident could lead to an EU-wide ban because the rules that apply in Germany are the same elsewhere in the EU and also in the UK,” said Matt Holman, specialist AI and data lawyer at Cripps, in an email to CNBC.
“The implications for DeepSeek could be, unsurprisingly, quite stark. Access to German citizens’ data will be curtailed. In short order this could expand to the remainder of the EU if other national regulators follow suits meaning EU — and potentially UK — markets will be curtailed if Apple and Google disable the app,” added Holman.
Overall, given the EU’s stringent data laws, a ban or restriction on DeepSeek is not a possibility we can rule out. DeepSeek does not have a legal presence or representative in the EU, making it difficult for EU data protection authorities to enforce regulations or for EU citizens to exercise their data rights.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) is already scrutinizing DeepSeek, and a task force initially focused on OpenAI’s ChatGPT has now expanded to include DeepSeek, indicating a coordinated EU response.
