Berlin Regulator Orders Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek

A German data protection regulator has ordered Apple and Google to remove the Chinese AI app DeepSeek from their app stores, citing violations of European privacy and digital service regulations. The Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection classified DeepSeek as “illegal content” due to concerns that Chinese authorities have extensive access rights to personal data, while users lack enforceable privacy protections available in the EU. DeepSeek’s parent company, Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence, collects and transfers user data including chat histories and location information to servers in China, which regulators argue violates EU data transfer laws since China lacks adequate privacy protections. This action follows similar measures by Italy, which banned the app in January, and reflects broader concerns among Asian governments about DeepSeek’s data practices, despite the company’s claims that its R1 reasoning model was developed at significantly lower costs than American competitors like ChatGPT.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​