Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 11, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
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DeepSeek may face more EU regulatory actions due to privacy concerns, as discussed by the European Data Protection Board.
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - DeepSeek may face more actions from national regulators in the future, Europe's privacy watchdog said on Tuesday, underscoring the bloc's concerns about the rising popularity of the cheap Chinese artificial intelligence startup.
National privacy regulators discussed DeepSeek at a monthly meeting on Tuesday, after Italy blocked the chatbot over lack of information on its use of personal data and as enforcers in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and other countries questioned DeepSeek on its data collection practices.
"Several DPAs (data protection authorities) have already started actions vis-a-vis DeepSeek and there may be further actions in the future," a spokesperson for the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) said in an email after the meeting.
The concerns prompted the EDPB to broaden the scope of a taskforce created in April 2023 to foster cooperation and exchange information on enforcement related to AI.
The taskforce had originally focused only on Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT.
"In addition, the EDPB members underlined the need to coordinate DPAs' actions regarding urgent sensitive matters and for that purpose will set up a quick response team," the spokesperson said.
Europe has been in the forefront of protecting its citizens' privacy rights while its General Data Protection Regulation, which came into effect in 2018, is the toughest privacy law in the world.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
The EU privacy watchdog indicated that DeepSeek may face more actions from national regulators in the future, highlighting concerns over its use of personal data.
DeepSeek was blocked in Italy due to a lack of information regarding its use of personal data, prompting discussions among national privacy regulators.
The EDPB taskforce was created to enhance cooperation and information exchange among data protection authorities regarding AI enforcement, initially focusing on OpenAI's ChatGPT.
The EDPB expressed concerns about the rising popularity of DeepSeek and the implications for privacy rights, leading to discussions about coordinated actions among data protection authorities.
The GDPR, which came into effect in 2018, is recognized as the toughest privacy law globally, reflecting Europe's commitment to protecting citizens' privacy rights.
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