BRUSSELS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Europe's privacy watchdog warned on Tuesday that DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, may face further scrutiny from national regulators due to concerns about its data practices.
During a monthly meeting, national privacy regulators discussed DeepSeek's use of personal data, with regulators from various countries, including France, Germany, and Luxembourg, raising questions about the company's data collection methods.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) spokesperson stated, "Several DPAs have initiated actions against DeepSeek, and more actions could follow in the future."
As a result of these concerns, the EDPB decided to expand a task force established in April 2023 to enhance cooperation and information sharing in AI enforcement, which originally focused on OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Moreover, the EDPB members emphasized the necessity to coordinate DPAs' responses on urgent matters by establishing a rapid response team.
Europe has been a pioneer in safeguarding citizens' privacy rights, with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), implemented in 2018, considered the most stringent privacy law globally.