Italy's digital information watchdog called for the government to block DeepSeek, China's new artificial intelligence chatbot after it said its company failed to turn over operation information to regulators.

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.

Italy has become the first country to ban DeepSeek AI, with authorities citing data privacy and ethical concerns. The move follows an investigation launched into DeepSeek's compliance with European GDPR rules and global concerns about its safety.