Berlin’s data protection commissioner, Meike Kamp, has raised serious alarms over the Chinese AI application DeepSeek, accusing the company of unlawfully transferring personal data of German users to China in violation of the European Union’s stringent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In a statement released on Friday, Kamp highlighted that DeepSeek has failed to demonstrate that the data of German users is protected in China at a level comparable to EU standards.
Berlin Data Watchdog Flags Unlawful Data
Under GDPR, companies are barred from transferring personal data outside the EU unless the receiving country ensures equivalent safeguards, a criterion that Kamp argues is not met due to the extensive access rights Chinese authorities have over data within the jurisdiction of Chinese firms.
According to the Report, this concern stems from the potential risk of German user data being accessed by Chinese authorities, posing a significant threat to user privacy and data security as per EU norms.
The Berlin data protection authority has taken a proactive stance by formally requesting tech giants Apple and Google to conduct a “timely review” of DeepSeek’s app availability on their respective app stores, urging a potential ban due to these privacy violations.
While it remains uncertain whether Apple and Google will comply with the request, the implications of such a move could be substantial.
Potential for EU-Wide Ban
Matt Holman, a specialist AI and data lawyer at Cripps, emphasized to CNBC that a ban in Germany could set a precedent for an EU-wide prohibition, given that GDPR regulations are uniform across the bloc and even extend to the UK post-Brexit.
However, achieving such a ban would require consensus among EU regulators on the severity of the violation and the appropriateness of a bloc-wide restriction.
Holman further noted that if Apple and Google were to remove DeepSeek from their platforms, it would effectively curtail the app’s accessibility across the EU, severely limiting DeepSeek’s market reach not only in Germany but potentially across Europe.
DeepSeek, a Chinese firm, has gained significant attention this year for developing an AI model at a fraction of the cost of its competitors by utilizing less advanced Nvidia chips, alongside its globally popular chatbot app, which has been downloaded millions of times.
However, this popularity has invited intense scrutiny over its data handling practices.
The current situation in Germany is not an isolated incident; earlier in the year, Italian data protection authorities ordered a block on DeepSeek’s app, while Irish regulators sought detailed information on its data processing methods.
As the case progresses, the inability to directly contact DeepSeek for comment despite attempts by CNBC to reach their privacy team adds another layer of complexity to the unfolding regulatory challenge.
If national regulators across the EU align with Germany’s stance, the repercussions for DeepSeek could be profound, potentially isolating it from a significant portion of the European market and raising broader questions about the compliance of international AI firms with GDPR’s rigorous data protection framework.
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