DeepSeek app unavailable in Apple and Google app stores in Italy

The Chinese artificial intelligence application DeepSeek appeared to be unavailable in Apple and Google app stores in Italy on Wednesday.

A notice displayed to customers on Apple's App Store said the app was "currently not available in the country or area you are in. A message on the Google app platform said the download "was not supported" in Italy.

DeepSeek was still working on Wednesday in other European countries and in Britain.

The disappearance came after Italy's data protection authority said on Tuesday it was seeking answers from DeepSeek on its use of personal data.

The Italian regulator, also known as the Garante, said it wanted to know what personal data is collected, from which sources, for what purposes, on what legal basis, and whether it is stored in China.