An investigation has been launched in Italy regarding the DeepSeek neural network.

The agency announced that it had reached out to the service developers with a request to comply with European legislation. Chinese companies responded that they do not operate in Europe and are not subject to European laws. The regulator deemed this response unsatisfactory and launched an investigation into a potential violation of the law.

Following the request from the Guarantor, DeepSeek has already removed the app from Italian stores but continues to operate through its website, notes the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Before the removal, the neural network was the most downloaded app in the country.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in force in the EU stipulates that its jurisdiction applies to companies worldwide if they process data of Union residents.

Failure to comply with the regulation could result in fines for companies of up to 20 million euros or 4 percent of their annual turnover, whichever amount is higher.