DeepSeek Faces Ban in Germany for Illegal Data Transfer to China

The Berlin commissioner for data protection has asked Google and Apple app stores to remove DeepSeek in Germany.

Meike Kamp said the artificial intelligence (AI) service violated European data privacy laws.

DeepSeek’s privacy policy states that the service collects personal user data, along with device and network data, and sends it to China for processing. “To provide you with our services, we directly collect, process and store your Personal Data in People’s Republic of China,” said the policy statement, noting that DeepSeek servers are located in China.

Kamp said in a June 27 press release that “transfer of user data by DeepSeek to China is unlawful.”

“DeepSeek has not been able to provide my office with convincing evidence that data of German users is protected in China at a level equivalent to that of the European Union. Chinese authorities have extensive access rights to personal data held by Chinese companies.

“In addition, DeepSeek users in China do not have enforceable rights and effective legal remedies as guaranteed in the European Union. I have therefore informed Google and Apple, as operators of the largest app platforms, of the violations and expect a prompt review of a blocking,” said Kamp.

Kamp also said that DeepSeek violated European data privacy laws, specifically Article 46(1) of the GDPR, which states that data may only be transferred to a different country, if the company has “provided appropriate safeguards” and effective legal remedies are available.

Following the violation, DeepSeek was asked, on May 6, to remove the service from app stores in Germany voluntarily.

After it failed to do so, the commissioner has now deemed the service “illegal content” under the Digital Services Act, and ordered Apple and Google on June 27 to remove DeepSeek from their app stores.

The Epoch Times reached out to DeepSeek regarding the commissioner’s statement and did not receive a reply by publication time.

DeepSeek made waves in the AI community earlier this year when it announced it could get similar results to ChatGPT, using a fraction of the latter’s resources. The news made headlines all over the world, with share prices of AI chip maker Nvidia crashing and creating commotion within the American tech sector.

Since then, it has been revealed that DeepSeek has been an instrument of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with its efficiency claims found to be dubious at best. Several countries and U.S. states have banned the app.

As for Nvidia, it has regained its lost value and is trending higher than before.

Blocking DeepSeek

DeepSeek has come under scrutiny in the United States and Europe for its data security policies.

Italy blocked it from app stores there earlier this year, citing a lack of information on its use of personal data, while the Netherlands has banned it on government devices.

Belgium has recommended government officials not use DeepSeek. “Further analyses are underway to evaluate the approach to be followed,” a government spokesperson said.

In February, the Spanish consumer rights group OCU asked the government’s data protection agency to investigate threats likely posed by DeepSeek, though no ban has come into force.

South Korea had banned new users from downloading the app on devices.

India, Australia, and Taiwan, home to the world’s largest semiconductor companies, have banned DeepSeek from all government devices.

“Unlike other generative AI services, it has been confirmed that chat records are transferable as it includes a function to collect keyboard input patterns that can identify individuals and communicate with Chinese companies’ servers,” Seoul’s National Intelligence Service said in a statement.

In the United States, New York and Texas have banned DeepSeek from state government devices and networks.

“Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stated. “Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors.”

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis on Feb. 20, banned DeepSeek at Florida’s Department of Financial Services.

In April, Kansas sought to pass legislation banning DeepSeek.

Provisions of House Bill 2313 require state agencies to block access to AI platforms and models controlled by countries such as China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.

An Epoch Times investigation conducted earlier this year concluded that DeepSeek AI was hard-coded with CCP censorship and propaganda.

Chinese companies and companies operating in China are obligated to hand over info, including customer data, to Beijing upon request for national security purposes.

“By turning over that information to a company, you’re also potentially turning it over to the CCP,” Daniel Castro, vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and director of the Center for Data Innovation, recently told The Epoch Times.

Besides regurgitating CCP propaganda, what sets DeepSeek apart from other Chinese apps is that it is being released under the permissive MIT software license, thereby incentivizing mass adoption of its programming by start-ups around the world.

Andrew Thornebrooke, Eva Fu, and Reuters contributed to this report.