A German data protection official has accused the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek of illegally transferring user data to China.
Meike Kamp, Berlin’s commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, reported DeepSeek to Apple and Google and asked the American companies to remove DeepSeek from their app stores.
In a statement released on Friday, Kamp said DeepSeek did not provide “convincing evidence” that users’ data was protected, as is required by European Union law.
“DeepSeek's transfer of user data to China is unlawful,” Kamp said, adding that “Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies”.
“Furthermore, DeepSeek users in China do not have the enforceable rights and effective legal remedies guaranteed in the European Union,” Kamp said.
She said that Apple and Google must now review the report and decide whether to remove the app.
Kamp said that her office had asked DeepSeek to either comply with EU laws for transferring data outside the bloc or pull its app from Germany, but that DeepSeek has not taken either option.
Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), companies are banned from sending data outside the region unless specific safeguards are in place in the countries where the data is sent.
DeepSeek made waves in January when it launched its AI model, claiming it was created at a fraction of the cost of competitors.
But studies have shown there are concerns over cybersecurity and safety, including DeepSeek-R1’s susceptibility to generating harmful and biased content.
As it is a China-based company, the country’s law states that any data shared on mobile and web apps can be accessed by Chinese intelligence agencies, which is also generating national security fears.
Italy banned DeepSeek from its app stores in January, citing data protection concerns.
The country’s data protection authority ordered a block on Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence – the Chinese companies behind the DeepSeek chatbot – to force them to stop processing Italians’ data.
The move comes after DeepSeek reportedly told the Italian authorities that it would not cooperate with a request for information.
