Italy blocks Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek over privacy concerns
Italy's data protection authority blocked the Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek on 30 January 2025, citing insufficient disclosures about data collection and legal basis for processing. The authority initiated a formal investigation and ordered the companies behind the service to cease accessing Italian user data.
What happened
Italy's data protection authority (GPDP) blocked access to the Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek on 30 January 2025 to protect user data. The authority ordered Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence to immediately cease access to Italian user data.
The GPDP determined that the companies' response regarding what personal data they collect and the legal basis for collection was entirely insufficient. The authority initiated a formal investigation into the Chinese technology startup.
Reported impact
Italian users of the DeepSeek application were blocked from accessing the service.
Index analysis
The action mirrors the GPDP's March 2023 investigation into ChatGPT by OpenAI, which also faced temporary restrictions over similar privacy concerns. DeepSeek launched its low-cost, open-source DeepSeek-R1 model on 20 January 2025, developed using fewer chips and challenging Western dominance in artificial intelligence.
Governance controls
The GPDP issued a blocking order to protect Italian user data after determining the companies' disclosures about data collection practices were insufficient.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.