German privacy regulator wants Google and Apple to remove DeepSeek app from app stores

The Beauftrage für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (BDI) has asked Google and Apple to remove DeepSeek’s app from their app stores. Germany’s privacy regulator accuses the Chinese AI company of illegally transferring German users' personal data to China.

BDI Commissioner Meike Kamp suggests that DeepSeek's transfer of user data to China is unlawful.

“DeepSeek has not been able to provide my office with convincing evidence that data of German users is protected in China at a level equivalent to that of the European Union,” she states in a press release.

Chinese authorities have access to personal data held by Chinese companies. At the same time, DeepSeek users in China do not have enforceable rights and effective legal remedies as guaranteed in the European Union. Therefore, Kamp has informed Google and Apple of these violations and hopes they will block DeepSeek’s app.

A corresponding notice was sent to Google and Apple on June 27th, 2025. The two companies must review the notice and decide how to respond. The BDI Commissioner hopes that both tech companies will remove DeepSeek’s app from the app stores in Germany on their own free will.

DeepSeek has no office in the European Union. However, the company’s AI service is offered to European users, including Germany. As such, DeepSeek is obliged to comply with the privacy and data protection rules that are dictated by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Digital Services Act (DSA).

It’s not the first time DeepSeek has been criticized. Several countries have already banned the Chinese AI bot due to privacy and security concerns. The GPDP, Italy’s privacy regulator, was the first data protection authority (DPA) to ban DeepSeek to protect users’ data. Countries like Australia and Taiwan did the same. Policymakers from the United States are planning to introduce a bill that would ban government agencies from using any AI models developed in China.

DPAs from Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands have launched investigations into DeepSeek’s privacy practices and are recommending citizens not to share sensitive data with the Chinese chatbot.