Privacy watchdogs fume over DeepSeek’s data funnelling to Beijing
Germany’s data protection commissioner is sharpening the knives for DeepSeek, demanding that the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple and Google boot the Chinese AI outfit from their German app stores.
Data protection and freedom of information commissioner Meike Kamp, reckons DeepSeek has been illegally shipping personal data from German users back to China. Her Friday missive to Job’s Mob and Google ordered them to “promptly review” and decide whether to turf the app from their digital shelves.
“We have not set a precise timeframe,” Kamp admitted, but seemed confident that booting the app was the right move. Google said it was reviewing the notice. Apple, true to form, didn’t say a dicky bird.
The commissioner’s main beef is that DeepSeek’s privacy policy says it stores user queries, files, and assorted personal data on servers in China. That’s problematic, Kamp insists, because “Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies.”
“DeepSeek has not been able to provide my agency with convincing evidence that German users’ data is protected in China to a level equivalent to that in the European Union,” she said.
She noted that her office had asked DeepSeek in May to either meet EU data transfer standards or withdraw voluntarily. It did neither.
The app, which made headlines in January for claiming to build a rival to ChatGPT on the cheap, is already being bounced around by other European watchdogs. Italy has banned it from app stores, the Netherlands has scrubbed it from government devices, and Belgium told officials to steer clear.
Spain’s consumer group OCU urged an investigation in February, though nothing has come of it yet. Meanwhile, a UK government spokesperson shrugged and said use of the app remains a “personal choice” for the British public, adding that the government “will not hesitate to take the appropriate steps” if security risks emerge.
Across the Atlantic, US lawmakers are sharpening their pencils for a bill that would bar federal agencies from using any Chinese-made AI models. Reuters claimed last week that DeepSeek’s technology is also helping out China’s military and spooks, which won’t exactly help its case.