The jury is still out on whether the Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek is a game changer or part of an elaborate plan by its hedge fund parent company to short

DeepSeek, the controversial Chinese AI chatbot, is no longer available for download in Italy and Ireland. Both countries pulled the app from Apple and Google stores on Jan. 29, accusing the company of dodging questions about its handling of personal data and causing fears of Chinese government access to user information.

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