Politics
DHS orders federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek AI tools
A Department of Homeland Security directive requires federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products and stop contracting for the Chinese company’s services. The agency cited concerns that use could expose sensitive government data to China.
The Department of Homeland Security has ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products from their information technology systems and barred them from contracting for the Chinese artificial intelligence company’s products and services.
The directive, filed Monday, Oct. 19, applies to third-party services built using DeepSeek’s AI model as well as products directly affiliated with the Beijing-based company.
DHS said the models “present multiple threat vectors” and warned that their use by government employees or contractors “may result in the transfer of sensitive data” to the People’s Republic of China. The notice did not identify specific instances of data being transferred.
The order extends earlier restrictions within the federal government. The Commerce Department barred DeepSeek from government devices in 2025, and the U.S. Navy directed its personnel that year not to use the technology over security concerns.
DeepSeek’s open-weight models have drawn attention for competing with leading U.S. AI systems at lower cost. Federal agencies have also scrutinized Chinese AI companies amid allegations of attempts to extract capabilities from U.S. models, a practice known as distillation.
The directive broadens the government’s effort to limit the use of foreign AI tools in federal systems. Its stated concern is the potential exposure of sensitive information, while its reach also extends to services built by other providers using DeepSeek’s model.