ROME, Jan 5 — GeokHub Italy’s competition and consumer watchdog has closed an investigation into the Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek after the company agreed to strengthen warnings about the risk of inaccurate or fabricated AI-generated content.
The Italian antitrust authority said it accepted a set of binding commitments from the companies behind DeepSeek, concluding that the measures adequately address concerns that users were not being clearly informed about so-called AI “hallucinations.”
The inquiry, launched last June, focused on whether DeepSeek failed to sufficiently disclose that its system could generate misleading or false information in response to user prompts.
Regulatory Concerns and Resolution
Under the agreement, DeepSeek’s operators committed to improving how the platform explains hallucination risks to users, making disclosures clearer, more transparent and immediately visible.
Regulators said the changes will help users better understand the limitations of AI-generated responses and reduce the risk of consumers relying on inaccurate outputs.
The investigation was formally closed following the publication of the decision in the authority’s weekly bulletin.
Who Operates DeepSeek
DeepSeek is jointly owned and operated by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence. Both entities proposed the corrective measures that allowed the case to be resolved without penalties.
Broader Implications
The decision highlights growing regulatory scrutiny across Europe over generative AI systems, particularly around transparency, consumer protection and the risk of misinformation. Authorities are increasingly pressing AI developers to clearly communicate system limitations as usage expands in everyday applications.
