Germany’s data protection authorities have escalated their scrutiny of Chinese artificial intelligence applications, with Berlin’s data protection commissioner Meike Kamp formally requesting Apple and Google to review and potentially remove DeepSeek from their respective app stores.

The move, announced on June 27, 2025, represents a significant regulatory challenge for the popular AI chatbot that has gained millions of downloads globally since its launch earlier this year.

DeepSeek, developed by a Chinese firm, initially attracted international attention for its cost-effective AI model development approach, claiming to achieve competitive performance using less advanced Nvidia chips at a fraction of traditional costs.

However, the application’s data handling practices have now come under intense regulatory scrutiny across European markets.

The German action follows similar concerns raised by Italian data protection authorities in February, who ordered DeepSeek to block its app domestically, and Irish authorities who requested detailed information about the company’s data processing mechanisms in January.

CNBC analysts noted that the regulatory pressure stems from DeepSeek’s alleged violation of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), specifically regarding cross-border data transfers.

Commissioner Kamp stated that DeepSeek has been unable to demonstrate adequate protection of German user data when transferred to China, citing concerns about extensive access rights that Chinese authorities maintain over personal data within their jurisdiction.

The technical foundation of Germany’s complaint centers on GDPR’s Article 44, which prohibits data transfers outside the EU unless specific safeguards equivalent to European standards are implemented.

Under this regulation, companies must establish adequacy decisions, binding corporate rules, or standard contractual clauses to ensure data protection continuity.

DeepSeek’s infrastructure appears to lack these mandatory protections, creating what regulators consider an “unlawful” data transfer scenario.

Legal expert Matt Holman from Cripps emphasized that this incident could trigger broader implications, potentially leading to an EU-wide ban if other national regulators follow Germany’s lead.

The enforcement mechanism would effectively occur through Apple and Google’s compliance, as removing the application from their app stores would curtail access across European markets, fundamentally limiting DeepSeek’s operational capacity within the region.

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