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The bad news keeps coming for Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek, after a Germany data protection watchdog called for an Apple and Google review of an app store ban.
The Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Meike Kamp, announced on Friday that DeepSeek’s transfer of German user data to China is “unlawful,” under EU data protection rules.
In the Google Translation of Meike Kamp’s statement, the data watchdog asked Apple and Google to carry out a “timely review” about whether to ban the app or not from their respective app stores.
GDPR violation
This is potentially a very serious move for DeepSeek, as action in Germany could potentially led to a European Union-wide ban.
DeepSeek was already under investigation from Italy’s data protection regulator, which opened its probe in February while ordering the company to stop processing Italian users’ data and asking the government to block the app in the country.
But now Germany data protection officials are also stepping in.
“Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co Ltd, based in Beijing, China, operates the DeepSeek service, an AI-powered, multifunctional chatbot,” said the German regulator. “The company has no branch office in the European Union (EU). The service is offered to users in Germany, including via apps in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store with German-language descriptions, and can be used in German. The service is therefore subject to the provisions of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).”
Under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation companies are prohibited from sending data outside the region unless specific safeguards are in place at the countries of arrival.
The German watchdog alleges that Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co Ltd violates Art. 46 GDPR with its DeepSeek service.
“DeepSeek’s transfer of user data to China is unlawful,” said Meike Kamp. “DeepSeek has not been able to convincingly demonstrate to my authority that German users’ data in China is protected to a level equivalent to that of the European Union.”
App store ban
“Chinese authorities have far-reaching rights of access to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies,” said Kamp. “Furthermore, DeepSeek users in China do not have the enforceable rights and effective legal remedies guaranteed in the European Union. I have therefore informed Google and Apple, as operators of the largest app platforms, of the violations and expect a timely consideration of a blocking.”
It is unclear at the time of writing if Google and Apple will comply with the German request, and remove DeepSeek from their respective app stores in Germany.
Privacy concerns
It should be remembered that DeepSeek gained instant popularity and publicity earlier this year when in late January it launched open-source AI models that perform on par with rival AI models from the US, but which it said were developed for a fraction of the cost.
But privacy issues soon surfaced, amid concerns about the data it collects.
In February, Feroot Security, an Ontario-based cybersecurity firm said it had uncovered “concerning code” within the DeepSeek platform that enables direct data transmission from DeepSeek to China Mobile servers.
That same month South Korea’s data agency temporarily suspended DeepSeek from the country’s app stores, with regulators citing privacy concerns.
Then in April South Korea’s data protection authority warned that DeepSeek had transferred user information and prompts without permission to companies in China and the US.
Then in June it was revealed that DeepSeek had begun hiring interns to process medical data, as hospitals have begun adopting the company’s open-source models for use in clinical settings.
DeepSeek has also been banned on government devices in a number of countries over national security concerns, including South Korea, Italy, Taiwan, Australia, India and the United States.
And a host of other countries are said to be also probing the national security angle of DeepSeek, including, the UK, Belgium, France, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Earlier this week a senior US official warned DeepSeek is helping China’s military and intelligence operations, and may have even used shell companies to help procure Nvidia chips that are otherwise covered by US export restrictions that prevent their sale to China.
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