The German government is stepping up pressure on Apple and Google to remove the Chinese artificial-intelligence app DeepSeek from their German app stores. At issue are serious allegations that DeepSeek violates the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Meike Kamp, Berlin’s Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, has sharply criticized the app for transmitting users’ personal data to China without meeting the EU’s strict privacy requirements. Kamp’s office reviewed DeepSeek’s practices and concluded that the company failed to provide convincing evidence that its data processing complies with EU law. Particularly troubling: the app stores all user data exclusively in China, where it falls under the broad access rights of Chinese authorities.
Earlier, German data-protection authorities had asked DeepSeek either to meet the GDPR’s requirements for international data transfers or to voluntarily withdraw the app from the German market. According to Kamp, the company did not respond or take any steps to address these concerns.
Germany is following Italy’s example, which banned DeepSeek earlier this year on the same grounds—that it fails to meet data-protection and security standards. European privacy experts also note that DeepSeek not only originates in China, but that both its data processing and storage occur under Chinese jurisdiction. In its own privacy policy, the company confirms that all user data is stored in China and hence subject to Chinese law, a fact that EU regulators view as a significant risk.
It remains to be seen whether Apple and Google will yield to Berlin’s mounting pressure. A German ban on DeepSeek would send another clear message that European data-protection standards remain binding on non-European tech companies as well.
Translated and edited by: Hans Seckler