- US civilian agencies have been ordered to stop using DeepSeek and remove it from government systems
- DHS cited data security, user tracking, and potential national security risks tied to the AI model
- The move expands broader US restrictions on Chinese technology across government infrastructure
The Donald Trump administration has banned Chinese Artificial Intelligence model DeepSeek from all civilian government agencies and ordered them to stop using it and remove it from its tech stack immediately.
Earlier this week, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a new notice, notifying government agencies of the change:
“The Department of Homeland Security is publishing notice of the Secretary of Homeland Security’s issuance of an order (1) excluding information technology products and services developed by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd (DeepSeek), to include affiliated entities as defined in applicable regulations, from federal civilian agency procurements; and, (2) removing all DeepSeek and DeepSeek-affiliate products, and third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek implementations, from civilian agency information technology.”
Multiple threat vectors
Apparently, this is not the first time the Trump administration made moves against Chinese AI tech. According to CNBC, the order was originally issued in late July this year, and applies to federal civilian agencies including the Treasury, State and Justice departments, but excluding the Department of Defense. The publication also said the US Congress restricted the use of DeepSeek in intelligence community systems late last year, and even earlier - in March - the US Commerce Department told its staff not to use DeepSeek. The Defense Information Systems Agency banned it in January 2025.
In the latest DHS order, it was said that DeepSeek’s models “present multiple threat vectors”. To use the tool, users need to provide all sorts of data - from personally identifiable information (PII) to other business or proprietary information, which the company can use to “track and digitally fingerprint users”. Furthermore, China’s laws allow the government to easily access and collect the data created and stored by private companies, meaning information on US citizens can easily fall into the government’s hands. That, in turn, “could produce actionable intelligence on US persons and/or government programs,” the DHS explains.
“The models themselves may contain malware or other security vulnerabilities,” it stressed. “Indeed, open-source security research has found that the DeepSeek iOS mobile application contains multiple critical vulnerabilities.”
When asked for a comment, China’s foreign ministry told the Reuters news agency it would safeguard the rights of its companies: “China consistently opposes the over-generalization of national security as well as the politicization of science, technology and trade issues,” Mao Ning, a ministry spokesperson, told the agency.
China trade war
US President Donald Trump has openly talked against using Chinese technology and has banned multiple companies and solutions already. In his first term, he blacklisted hundreds of Chinese companies and affiliates, including telecommunications giants Huawei and ZTE, semiconductor manufacturer SMIC, drone maker DJI, and surveillance technology firms Hikvision and Dahua Technology. ZTE almost went bankrupt over it, and Huawei ended up building its own mobile phone operating system, Harmony OS, after losing access to Google and Android. At the time, the US was upgrading its mobile network to 5G, something Chinese companies were interested in working on. However, Trump argued that the Chinese government could force these companies into installing backdoors, which could allow China to eavesdrop on US communications.
In August 2026, during his second term, Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and banned all foreign bulk-power systems from being imported, installed, or used in the country. He also said the government would analyze existing systems to isolate and remove any foreign-built hardware or software. The same ban was issued during his first term but was revoked by the Biden administration.
Later this month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to prevent all Chinese labs from testing hardware used in the US, Reuters reported. Last year, four in five (82%) of all US electronics were tested in China.
Via CNBC