The Italian regulator, Garante, reported that the Chinese application DeepSeek, which has built-in artificial intelligence, has been blocked. The urgent order came into effect immediately to protect Italian personal data.
This decision was made two days after Italy requested information on how DeepSeek uses personal data. The local regulator asked what data is collected, why, and whether it is stored in China. However, the Chinese company’s response was deemed “completely insufficient.” They said they do not operate in Italy and that European legislation does not apply to them.
On January 29, the DeepSeek app disappeared from digital stores in Italy. The web version, however, remains available today.
However, the US Department of Defense and the US Congress have banned employees from using the new Chinese chatbot based on artificial intelligence, DeepSeek. The Defense Information Systems Agency, responsible for the Pentagon’s IT networks, has blocked access to the DeepSeek website. The chatbot’s privacy policy states that user data is stored on servers in China and is regulated by Chinese law.
The US Congress is still strongly warning its staff not to use DeepSeek, which is still being tested and not authorized for official use.