In a bid to curb China’s influence in the Artificial Intelligence sector, United States has moved to cut DeepSeek out of the civilian side of the federal government. The US Department of Homeland Security issued an order directing agencies to remove the Chinese company’s products from their IT systems.
The directive was filed on Monday, and it became effective on Tuesday. Agencies must stop using the products and are barred from buying anything new from the company. The order does not stop at DeepSeek itself. It also names the firm’s affiliates, along with any third-party products and services that were built on DeepSeek implementations, meaning software that merely runs on the company’s technology falls under the same prohibition.
DHS warned that government employees and contractors who rely on DeepSeek tools might expose sensitive material to China. Such exposure, the department said, could reveal details about US citizens as well as about federal programs. Officials also flagged specific security weaknesses found in the company’s iOS application, adding a technical argument to the broader worry about data flowing overseas.
DHS concluded that using the products could put sensitive data at risk of being sent to China, according to the report. The language is one of risk rather than of proven harm. No confirmation has emerged that any actual leak of data took place, and the order is framed as a preventive measure aimed at limiting use across federal civilian agencies before any such incident can be shown.
The directive builds on a pattern of earlier American restrictions. The Commerce Department already had its own ban in place, and parts of the defense, security and intelligence community have likewise barred the technology.
