Tech Desk 
Jan 30, 2025
DeepSeek has been making waves in the tech world with its powerful capabilities and low-cost development. The app quickly became the #1 artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot on Apple’s App Store, challenging industry giants such as OpenAI and Google.
However, privacy concerns have now put DeepSeek under investigation in both the US and Europe, leading to its removal from app stores in Italy.
DeepSeek AI app under privacy investigation
DeepSeek gained tremendous attention for offering high-performance AI at a lower cost than US rivals like OpenAI and Google. Its success raised concerns about the dominance of US AI companies, leading to a drop in stock prices for some tech giants. However, privacy issues have now put DeepSeek under scrutiny.
Italy’s data protection authority questioned whether DeepSeek follows the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a strict privacy law in Europe.
Moreover, officials have asked the company to explain what user data it collects, where it is stored, and how it is used. Ireland’s privacy regulator has also joined the investigation. If DeepSeek fails to meet general data protection regulation (GDPR) standards, it could face bans across all 30 European countries.
The US government is also investigating DeepSeek for potential national security risks. White House officials are reviewing how the app collects and processes user data.
Following Italy’s privacy inquiry, DeepSeek disappeared from app stores in the country. It is unclear if this was a decision by the company or the app stores. If privacy concerns remain unresolved, DeepSeek could soon be removed in other regions as well.
