Italy’s data protection authority, the Garante, has initiated an investigation into the Chinese AI company DeepSeek for possible privacy violations. The regulator is seeking information on how the AI model gathers, processes, and stores personal data, specifically whether user information is being sent to China. DeepSeek, which has recently emerged as a prominent AI assistant, has been given 20 days to respond to the inquiry.
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This action is part of a larger European initiative to ensure that AI platforms adhere to stringent data protection regulations. The investigation occurs amid increasing global scrutiny of AI models, with U.S. authorities also evaluating the national security risks associated with DeepSeek’s rapid growth. Italy’s Garante has previously taken a strong position on AI regulation, having temporarily banned OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2023 due to privacy issues. The results of the DeepSeek investigation could establish a precedent for how AI models operating in Europe manage user data in the future.