Blocked and investigated

Deepseek in even more trouble

The Chinese AI service Deepseek has been bombarded with attention recently and is now under scrutiny by various authorities.

Ove Kaufeldt

Published 2 February 2025 - 21:49

The Chinese AI service Deepseek initially received a lot of attention for its large capacity achieved with very few resources in context and at a very low cost. It also became the most downloaded app in many countries, including Sweden.

After that, the publicity was about claims that the company had "stolen" information from ChatGPT, and that a large database including user information and passwords had been left open on the internet. Now Deepseek is in trouble again regarding potential risks in the form of potential surveillance, censorship, and lack of privacy protection.

Now the publication Reuters reports that the Italian data protection authority Garante has blocked the service in Italy. This came after Garante contacted Deepseek to get answers on, among other things, what personal data the company collects, from which sources, for what purposes, and whether the information is stored in China. According to Garante, the answers received were "completely inadequate," and they then chose to immediately block the service while initiating a more comprehensive investigation.

At the same time, the publication Euronews reports that data protection authorities in Belgium and Ireland have also requested answers from Deepseek regarding the handling of personal data. Normally, it is the authority in the country where a company is established that handles GDPR matters, but since Deepseek has not established itself in any EU country, all member states can theoretically investigate and make decisions on measures against the company.