Italy blocks DeepSeek due to unclear data protection

Italy’s data protection authority Garante has chosen to block the app for the much-hyped Chinese AI model DeepSeek in the country.

The decision comes after the Chinese companies providing the chatbot service failed to provide the authority with sufficient information about how users’ personal data is used.

Reuters writes that Garante wants to know, among other things, what personal data DeepSeek collects, from what sources, for what purposes, on what legal basis, and whether the data is stored in China.

As a result, DeepSeek is no longer available through Apple’s or Google’s app stores in Italy. Garante has also launched an investigation. DeepSeek has not commented on the matter.