Berlin's data protection commissioner Meike Kamp said that 
DeepSeek's transfer of German user data to China is "unlawful."
"DeepSeek has not been able to convincingly demonstrate to my authority that the data of German users is protected in China at a level equivalent to that of the European Union. Chinese authorities have extensive access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies."
Under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, companies are prohibited from sending data outside the region unless specific safeguards are in place at the countries of arrival. Those safeguards must meet GDPR requirements in Europe.
In short, the Berlin data protection commissioner is concerned that Chinese authorities could access German user data sent by DeepSeek to China.
The Berlin data watchdog has informed Apple and Google of DeepSeek's alleged violations and expects the US tech giants to carry out a "timely review" about whether to ban the app or not from their respective app stores.
It's unclear if Google and Apple will comply.
If the German case against DeepSeek progresses, it could lead to a European Union-wide ban for the app.
“It is certainly possible that this incident could lead to an EU-wide ban because the rules that apply in Germany are the same elsewhere in the EU and also in the UK.”
While an EU-wide ban is possible, there needs to be consensus among the bloc's regulators first that this would be an appropriate step.
If Apple and Google remove DeepSeek from their app stores, this would effectively amount to an EU-wide ban.
cnbc.com/amp/2025/06/27
DeepSeek's transfer of German user data to China is "unlawful."
"DeepSeek has not been able to convincingly demonstrate to my authority that the data of German users is protected in China at a level equivalent to that of the European Union. Chinese authorities have extensive access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies."
Under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, companies are prohibited from sending data outside the region unless specific safeguards are in place at the countries of arrival. Those safeguards must meet GDPR requirements in Europe.
In short, the Berlin data protection commissioner is concerned that Chinese authorities could access German user data sent by DeepSeek to China.
The Berlin data watchdog has informed Apple and Google of DeepSeek's alleged violations and expects the US tech giants to carry out a "timely review" about whether to ban the app or not from their respective app stores.
It's unclear if Google and Apple will comply.
If the German case against DeepSeek progresses, it could lead to a European Union-wide ban for the app.
“It is certainly possible that this incident could lead to an EU-wide ban because the rules that apply in Germany are the same elsewhere in the EU and also in the UK.”
While an EU-wide ban is possible, there needs to be consensus among the bloc's regulators first that this would be an appropriate step.
If Apple and Google remove DeepSeek from their app stores, this would effectively amount to an EU-wide ban.
cnbc.com/amp/2025/06/27