Updated 04:53 IST, January 31st 2025
Italy Blocks DeepSeek Chatbot App Over Data Protection Concerns
Italy's Data Protection Authority has taken a major step to protect its citizens' personal data by blocking the Chinese AI application DeepSeek chatbot app.

Milan: Italy's Data Protection Authority, known as the Garante, has taken a major step to protect its citizens' personal data by blocking the Chinese AI application DeepSeek chatbot app. The Italian authority also announced an investigation into the companies behind the chatbot. The Italian authority’s move to block the app comes after the Chinese company failed to provide sufficient information about its data collection and storage practices.
According to foreign media reports, the Garante had requested details from DeepSeek regarding the collection, sources, purposes, legal basis, and storage of personal data. Specifically, the regulator wanted to know if the data was stored in China.
However, the information provided by the Chinese companies supporting DeepSeek's chatbot services was deemed "totally insufficient”.
As a result, DeepSeek is no longer accessible on Apple and Google app stores in Italy. The regulator has also launched an investigation into the matter.
The Garante's website stated that the information provided by DeepSeek was inadequate, prompting the regulator to take swift action to protect Italian users' personal data.
“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 issued by the Italian authority said, noting that the app had been downloaded by millions of people around the globe in just a few days.
DeepSeek's new chatbot has raised the stakes in the AI technology race, rattling markets and catching up with American generative AI leaders at a fraction of the cost.
Published 04:53 IST, January 31st 2025