The privacy issues surrounding DeepSeek have prompted investigations in the United States and Europe, resulting in the app’s removal from the App Store in Italy. It’s likely that similar actions may follow in other nations.
Italy’s privacy authority has raised concerns regarding the app’s compliance with GDPR, a stringent privacy regulation that governs 30 nations.
Overview of DeepSeek
DeepSeek is an AI chatbot created in China, boasting benchmarks that claim its performance rivals that of the best models available worldwide. Experts have quickly corroborated these claims, expressing astonishment at China’s ability to achieve such results at a significantly lower development cost compared to US counterparts, all while operating on modestly equipped PCs.
This app quickly surged to the top position in the Apple App Store.
It has also sparked concerns about the potential overvaluation of US AI firms. Previously, it was believed that the high costs tied to hardware required for developing large language models (LLMs) would insulate companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta from competition with smaller firms, ensuring that Nvidia GPUs would remain in high demand. These beliefs are now being reevaluated, prompting a drop in the stock prices of various companies.
Concerns Regarding DeepSeek’s Privacy
Many AI chatbots have privacy policies that enable them to learn from user interactions, which raises significant privacy issues.
The Chinese ownership of DeepSeek has intensified worries about how it gathers and processes personal information. Reuters reports that Italy’s privacy regulator has submitted a series of inquiries regarding the app’s adherence to GDPR, granting the company 20 days to respond.
Italy’s data protection authority is seeking clarification from the Chinese AI model DeepSeek regarding its handling of personal data. The Garante, Italy’s privacy regulator, has requested information about the types of personal data collected, their sources, intended uses, legal bases, and whether this data is stored in China.
Furthermore, US officials are investigating the app as well.
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, US officials are examining the national security ramifications of the Chinese AI app DeepSeek […] The National Security Council is assessing the app’s potential impacts.
DeepSeek Pulled from the App Store in Italy
In reaction to the Garante’s inquiries, DeepSeek has been taken down from both Apple and Google app stores in Italy. It remains uncertain whether this decision was made by DeepSeek itself or the app store operators.
On Wednesday, access to the Chinese AI app DeepSeek was blocked in both Apple and Google app stores in Italy, just one day after the country’s data protection authority sought information on its data handling practices.
Reuters has indicated that Ireland’s privacy regulator has also initiated similar inquiries.
GDPR regulations affect all 27 European Union countries and three EEA nations, meaning a total of 30 nations require compliance. Inadequate responses to the questions posed by Italy and Ireland could lead to a ban on the app across these countries.
DMN’s Perspective
These privacy concerns extend to the majority of generative AI services. Given their comparably similar privacy policies, the underlying difference seems to be a greater trust in US entities compared to their Chinese counterparts. The safest practice is to refrain from sharing personal information in your chatbot interactions.
Apple Intelligence stands out in this regard as it does not utilize your data for training purposes. Moreover, thanks to Apple’s collaboration with OpenAI, ChatGPT is also restricted from using your data when accessed as a backup through Apple Intelligence. Consequently, using ChatGPT via Siri is considered the most secure method.
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