Should your personal data be floating around on servers in China?
Germany’s data protection chief says absolutely not.
She’s calling on Apple and Google to pull Chinese AI app DeepSeek from their app stores.
“DeepSeek hasn’t convinced us that German users’ data is safe in China,” said Meike Kamp, Germany’s data commissioner.
The app collects personal info—everything from your chats to uploaded files—and stores it on computers in China.
What’s The Concern?
And that’s a big problem. Why? “Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data,” Kamp explained.
Translation: once your data is there, it’s fair game.
Back in May, Kamp gave DeepSeek a chance to meet EU data protection standards or leave voluntarily.
The company didn’t budge. Now, she wants it gone.
DeepSeek turned heads earlier this year with bold claims of building a ChatGPT-level model—at a fraction of the cost.
But as its reputation grew, so did scrutiny.
Italy’s already banned the app, the Netherlands won’t allow it on government devices, and U.S. lawmakers are eyeing a full federal ban.
The big question now: will Apple and Google act—or keep the app live in the name of competition?
When AI meets geopolitics, privacy is the price on the table.
