Italy's data protection authority, the Garante, said on Thursday it had ordered DeepSeek to block its chatbot in the country after the Chinese artificial intelligence startup failed to address the regulator's concerns over its privacy policy.

Italy’s data protection authority has blocked use of Chinese tech startup DeepSeek’s AI application to protect Italians’ data and announced an investigation into the companies behind the chatbot.

The watchdog blocked access to DeepSeek after the companies that provide the DeepSeek chatbot service allegedly failed to provide it with information about the personal data collected.

Hours after Italian authorities requested information from DeepSeek about how the company handles user data, the Chinese AI startup's app is no longer

Italy has become the first country to ban DeepSeek AI, with authorities citing data privacy and ethical concerns. The move follows an investigation launched into DeepSeek's compliance with European GDPR rules and global concerns about its safety.

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI chatbot, swiftly rose to the top of app stores this week, and it's just as swiftly rising in priority for data protection watchdog agencies worldwide.

Italy's data protection watchdog has blocked Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm DeepSeek's service within the country, citing a lack of information on its use of users' personal data.

The Chinese artificial intelligence app DeepSeek has been banned from Australian government devices over national security concerns. Political reporter Olivia Caisley has the details from Canberra.

Defence Minister Richard Marles claims the advice on a Chinese artificial intelligence program called DeepSeek is that it would represent an “unacceptable risk” to government networks to have the app.

Australia on Tuesday issued an order restricting the use of China’s DeepSeek generative artificial intelligence app on government devices.