DeepSeek could soon disappear from Apple and Google’s official app stores in Germany as data protection officials accuse the Chinese chatbot of alleged privacy violations.
“DeepSeek’s transfer of user data to China is unlawful,” said Berlin Data Protection Commissioner Meike Kamp, in an official announcement dated June 27, 2025. Kamp has called on the Big Tech giant to consider blocking the app in the country.
Another EU member, Italy, already banned Deepseek from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in January 2025 over similar grounds. The block was enforced about a week after the release of the ChatGPT rival.
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Does DeepSeek violate GDPR rules?
According to German authorities, the company behind DeepSeek AI (Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd) violates Art. 46 (1) of the GDPR, which rules the need for “appropriate safeguards” when transferring EU citizens’ personal data to a third country.
According to Kamp, DeepSeek failed to convince German officials that users’ data is protected when these details are transferred to China, as expected by EU laws.
“Chinese authorities have far-reaching rights of access to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies. Furthermore, DeepSeek users in China do not have the enforceable rights and effective legal remedies guaranteed in the European Union,” Kamp added.
These concerns echoed similar GDPR complaints issued after examining the platform’s privacy policy and finding “multiple violations” of European rules.
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The US is currently pushing for a new bill, known as the ‘No Adversarial AI Act,’ to ban all AI models built in China, Iran, Russia, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from being used in government agencies – DeepSeek included.
It’s worth noting that DeepSeek updated its privacy policy on July 4, 2025, and now states that the company does not engage in ‘profiling,’ which was among the issues raised by EU privacy watchdogs. That said, other concerns previously raised, such as non-transparent information on data retention periods, may remain.
On May 6, 2025, German data protection officials asked the Chinese firm to “independently remove its apps from the German app stores, cease the illegal data transfer to China, or fulfill the legal requirements for lawful third-country transfers,” the announcement reads. A request that, said German officials, Deepseek failed to comply with.
Kamp has then decided to exercise Germany’s right under Art. 16 of the Digital Services Act (DSA) to report what he believes to be “illegal content” to app stores’ operators.
She said: “I have therefore informed Google and Apple, as operators of the largest app platforms, of the violations and expect a timely consideration of a blocking.”
While Italy was the first to launch an investigation into DeepSeek’s data privacy and security practices on January 28, 2025, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Portugal are also investigating DeepSeek’s policies over potential GDPR violations.
Can you use a VPN if DeepSeek gets blocked?
It’s still early to say whether the popular Chinese AI chatbot will leave the German market for good.
What we do know, though, is that DeepSeek is increasingly under fire worldwide, meaning that some of its nearly 97 million active users may need to find an alternative way to download, update, and use the app.
Using the best VPN services is generally an easy way to bypass online geo-restrictions, thanks to their IP-spoofing capabilities that let you look like you’re browsing from a completely different country in no time.
That said, like with the short-lived US TikTok ban, a VPN isn’t a one-click solution if DeepSeek gets banned on official app stores.
That’s mainly because using a VPN doesn’t spoof your location linked to your app stores. This means that you’ll need to “find another way of downloading the app other than the Apple App or Google Play stores,” Eamonn Maguire, Head of Account Security at Proton – the provider behind Proton VPN – told me back in January.
However, experts suggest doing this with caution as potential privacy concerns may remain.