Italy’s data protection authority on Thursday blocked access to the Chinese AI application DeepSeek to protect users' data and announced an investigation into the companies behind the chatbot. The authority,

Italy's data protection authority said on Thursday it had blocked Chinese artificial intelligence model DeepSeek over a lack of information on its use of personal data.

Chinese AI company DeepSeek rose to the top of app stores this week, and now it's being hit with data watchdog requests from Italy and Ireland.

The start-up had become a key player in the “Chinese Large-Model Technology Avengers Team” that would counter US AI dominance, said another. China’s delight, however, spelled pain for several giant US technology companies as investors questioned whether DeepSeek’s breakthrough undermined the case for their colossal spending on AI infrastructure.

The U.S. tried to slow China’s advances, but the startup showed how hard that is.

The Chinese tech company DeepSeek is causing major waves in the AI industry - what are they doing that’s making everyone rethink AI’s future?