The rise of Chinese artificial intelligence models in Western markets is increasingly facing a barrier – not technological, but regulatory. The latest example comes from Germany, where the country’s data protection commissioner has demanded that Apple and Google remove the DeepSeek app from their shops over fears of breaches of European data protection law.
It is another country after Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium that is questioning the security and transparency of a Chinese AI application. DeepSeek, a startup with ambitions to rival OpenAI and Anthropic, gained notoriety earlier in the year with claims of creating a competitive AI model at a much lower cost. In Europe, however, it is mainly faced with questions about where user data goes.
The German supervisory authority found that DeepSeek stores personal data – including the content of queries or uploaded files – on servers in China, and the company was unable to demonstrate that it guarantees a level of data protection equal to Europe’s. And this is a key condition under the RODO. Also working in the background is the concern about the broad powers of the Chinese authorities to access data – even those processed by commercial entities.
While the decision does not yet mean a formal ban – Apple and Google are to assess the situation themselves and take action – the pressure is mounting. Italian authorities have already ordered the app to be blocked. The Netherlands has banned its use on government devices and Belgium has recommended that officials avoid it. The UK government, on the other hand, remains with a ‘threat monitoring’ stance for now, as does Spain’s consumer protection agency.
On a geopolitical level, the case is part of a broader trend: a growing distrust of Chinese technology providers. US lawmakers are planning to introduce legislation banning the use of AI models developed in China by federal agencies. In the background, there are also reports of DeepSeek’s links to Chinese military and intelligence operations.
For Western platforms – such as Apple and Google – the situation is another test of their ability to operate in compliance with local regulations while balancing relationships with global partners. The DeepSeek decision could set a precedent for similar cases in the future, especially as Chinese AI models increasingly try to win users outside Asia.
For users and companies in Europe, the key question remains not so much the performance of AI, but trust in the ecosystem in which it operates. And in this case – data, once transferred to China, may not come back under European jurisdiction.
