DeepSeek has been found by independent investigation to be a tool for spreading CCP propaganda.
The Berlin commissioner for data protection has asked Google and Apple app stores to remove DeepSeek in Germany.
Meike Kamp said the artificial intelligence (AI) service violated European data privacy laws.
DeepSeek’s privacy policy states that the service collects personal user data, along with device and network data, and sends it to China for processing. “To provide you with our services, we directly collect, process and store your Personal Data in People’s Republic of China,” said the policy statement, noting that DeepSeek servers are located in China.
Kamp said in a June 27 press release that “transfer of user data by DeepSeek to China is unlawful.”
“DeepSeek has not been able to provide my office with convincing evidence that data of German users is protected in China at a level equivalent to that of the European Union. Chinese authorities have extensive access rights to personal data held by Chinese companies.
“In addition, DeepSeek users in China do not have enforceable rights and effective legal remedies as 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 prompt review of a blocking,” said Kamp.
Kamp also said that DeepSeek violated European data privacy laws, specifically Article 46(1) of the GDPR, which states that data may only be transferred to a different country, if the company has “provided appropriate safeguards” and effective legal remedies are available.
Following the violation, DeepSeek was asked, on May 6, to remove the service from app stores in Germany voluntarily.
After it failed to do so, the commissioner has now deemed the service “illegal content” under the Digital Services Act, and ordered Apple and Google on June 27 to remove DeepSeek from their app stores.
The Epoch Times reached out to DeepSeek regarding the commissioner’s statement and did not receive a reply by publication time.
DeepSeek made waves in the AI community earlier this year when it announced it could get similar results to ChatGPT, using a fraction of the latter’s resources. The news made headlines all over the world, with share prices of AI chip maker Nvidia crashing and creating commotion within the American tech sector.
Since then, it has been revealed that DeepSeek has been an instrument of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with its efficiency claims found to be dubious at best. Several countries and U.S. states have banned the app.
As for Nvidia, it has regained its lost value and is trending higher than before.
