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Italy's data protection authority, Garante has blocked the Chinese AI model DeepSeek over concerns regarding its use of personal data.
The authority had requested detailed information on the data collected by DeepSeek, its sources, purposes, legal basis, and whether it is stored in China.
This decision aims to protect Italian users' data and has taken immediate effect.
DeepSeek was inaccessible on Apple and Google app stores in Italy on Wednesday, following Garante's request for information.
The authority's decision came after the Chinese companies supplying DeepSeek's chatbot service gave “insufficient” information, reported Reuters.
DeepSeek did not respond to request for comment, the news outlet stated.
The Chinese model recently launched a free AI assistant that is claimed to use less data at a lower cost than existing services.
Earlier in January 2025, it surpassed US rival ChatGPT in downloads from Apple's app store, causing concern among tech stock investors.
Concerns about privacy, security, and surveillance have led other countries, including the US and Australia, to issue warnings about DeepSeek’s AI model.
In the US, employees of Defence Department linked their work computers to Chinese servers to access DeepSeek’s chatbot before the Pentagon blocked access, according to a defence official familiar with the matter, reported Bloomberg.
The Defense Information Systems Agency, responsible for the Pentagon’s IT networks, blocked access to DeepSeek’s website after concerns were raised about its use by Pentagon workers, said two people familiar with the matter.
DeepSeek’s privacy policy states that user data is stored on servers in China and governed by Chinese law.
"Italy’s Garante blocks DeepSeek over data privacy concerns" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.
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