DeepSeek is China’s equivalent of ChatGPT
DeepSeek has been declared by German regulators to contain illegal content because of its security issues, and the local government wants it removed from the App Store and Google Play Store.
DeepSeek is the Chinese generative AI app that jumped to the top of the US App Store, was famously developed for a fraction of what OpenAI spent on ChatGPT, and has even been politely praised by Tim Cook. However, it also comes with severe security issues, and this is what has prompted Germany’s decision.
According to Reuters, Germany’s data protection commissioner Meike Kamp has asked Apple and Google to remove it after DeepSeek failed to meet requested security standards. She asked DeepSeek in May 2025 to meet requirements, or to voluntarily withdraw its app, and it did neither.
“DeepSeek has not been able to provide my agency with convincing evidence that German users’ data is protected in China to a level equivalent to that in the European Union,” said Kamp. “Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies.”
Germany’s move follows Italy’s having it removed from App Stores early in 2025, while the Netherlands has banned it on government devices. DeepSeek is now reportedly aiding China’s military and intelligence operations, and the US is looking to ban executive agencies from using any AI models developer in China.
In February 2025, security firm NowSecure claimed to have proof that DeepSeek’s iOS app was sending data to Chinese-owned services. It noted that the Android version was even less secure.
While neither Apple nor Google have commented, the fact that both companies complied with Italy’s request to remove the app means they will surely do the same for Germany.