US orders federal agencies to purge DeepSeek AI, including apps built on it
The Department of Homeland Security has barred China's DeepSeek from civilian government systems, saying its chatbot could send sensitive official data to China.
Key points
- Federal civilian agencies in the US must remove DeepSeek products from their computer systems.
- The ban also covers third-party tools built on DeepSeek's models, including rebranded versions.
- DHS says use of DeepSeek may result in the transfer of sensitive data to China.
The United States has ordered its federal civilian agencies to strip the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) service DeepSeek out of their computer systems, in one of Washington’s sharpest moves yet against a Chinese AI company.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made the order public in the Federal Register this week. Signed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, it uses the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, a law that lets the government shut suppliers it considers risky out of its networks. It follows a recommendation from the Federal Acquisition Security Council.
What the order covers
The order names Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co. and its affiliates. Agencies must remove DeepSeek products already in use and may not buy them again. Crucially, the ban reaches beyond DeepSeek’s own app: it also covers third-party products and services built on DeepSeek’s models, including rebranded versions. DeepSeek releases its models openly, so they turn up inside many other companies’ tools.
Agencies must also drop DeepSeek from approved product lists and government online marketplaces. While they remove it, they are told to watch network traffic closely, tighten logging and guard against data leaking out.
National security systems are outside its scope, as are state governments, private companies and ordinary users of the DeepSeek app.
Why Washington acted
DHS said DeepSeek’s models present “multiple threat vectors” and warned that their use by government staff or contractors “may result in the transfer of sensitive data to the PRC”. It pointed to DeepSeek’s servers being in China, to Chinese laws that could give the state access to company data, to the personal details collected when users sign up, and to research that found serious security flaws in DeepSeek’s iPhone app.
The notice does not cite any specific breach. DeepSeek has not publicly responded.
What happens next
DHS must review the order within a year and every year after that. The move adds to a widening split in AI between the US and China, as Washington leans on export controls on advanced chips and now on procurement bans to keep Chinese AI out of sensitive government work.