06:42 AM EDT, 06/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Apple ( AAPL ) and Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google ( GOOG ) were cautioned by a German privacy regulator over the availability of the DeepSeek app on their respective app stores, saying the Chinese artificial intelligence service constitutes "illegal content."

"The reason for this is the unlawful transfer of personal data from users of the app to China," the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information said Friday. "The companies must now review the notice promptly and decide whether to block the app in Germany."

DeepSeek ignored a recent request to either pull the app from app stores in Germany or introduce safeguards when collecting local users' data and transmitting it to China, the regulator said.

Apple ( AAPL ) and Alphabet didn't immediately respond to MT Newswires' requests for comment.