Italy’s privacy watchdog has ordered the temporary blocking of DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence chatbot, from the country’s app stores due to concerns over the protection of users’ personal data. The Italian Data Protection Authority cited multiple violations of the European Union’s strict data privacy regulations (GDPR) as the basis for its decision. The regulator found that DeepSeek failed to properly inform users about how their personal data would be collected and processed, lacked a legal basis for collecting and processing personal data, and did not implement age verification mechanisms to protect minors. The authority also expressed concerns about the potential risks of generating inaccurate or inappropriate content that could harm users, particularly vulnerable individuals like children. This action follows similar regulatory measures taken by Italy against other AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, highlighting the country’s proactive stance on AI regulation and data protection. The temporary ban will remain in effect until DeepSeek complies with EU privacy laws and implements adequate safeguards for user data protection. This case demonstrates the growing tension between rapid AI advancement and regulatory compliance, particularly in jurisdictions with strict privacy laws, and underscores the importance of building privacy protection mechanisms into AI applications from the ground up.