The US government has ordered federal civilian agencies to stop buying products and services from DeepSeek and remove the Chinese company’s technology from existing information systems. The Department of Homeland Security directive also reaches third-party products built with DeepSeek models.
Agencies may request exceptions, but the default is broader than a ban on the company’s own chatbot. DHS cited concern that government-user data could become accessible to Chinese authorities under Chinese law.
A law passed in December 2025 had already restricted DeepSeek in national-security systems used by intelligence agencies. The new order extends the policy across civilian government and covers both future purchasing and technology already deployed.
China’s Foreign Ministry objected, saying the US was stretching the concept of national security and politicizing technology and trade. DeepSeek has also faced accusations from US AI companies and officials that it used model distillation—training on outputs from another model—to improve its systems. Those allegations are separate from the data-handling rationale cited for the removal order.