ROME, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Italy on Wednesday removed Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) app DeepSeek from app stores on the Apple and Google platforms, soon after the country's privacy regulator announced it had opened a probe into the AI chatbot's policies.

The Italian privacy watchdog said late Tuesday that it had sent a formal request for information from the Chinese company. Italy's request is one of the first regulatory moves involving DeepSeek.

The regulator gave DeepSeek 20 days to respond. However, less than 24 hours later, the app disappeared from the Apple app store and the Google Android app store platform in Italy.

By the time of going to press on Wednesday, neither Apple nor Google had responded to Xinhua's request for comment.

The app still works for Apple and Android users who have already downloaded it, while according to media reports it remains available for download in other European states.

Italian privacy and antitrust regulators are among the toughest in the European Union (EU) when it comes to AI. The Italian government briefly blocked the use of Microsoft's ChatGPT AI apps in 2023 based on privacy concerns, and last month the privacy regulator fined AI company OpenAI 15 million euros (15.6 million U.S. dollars) for alleged abuses. The fine is currently being appealed. Italy has previously levied large fines against Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook. Enditem

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