US Orders Federal Agencies to Remove DeepSeek AI From Government Systems
An October 2026 DHS directive expands a December 2025 restriction from intelligence and national-security systems to all federal civilian agencies, including third-party products built on DeepSeek; exceptions are possible. China’s Foreign Ministry called it politicizing technology and trade.
The United States government ordered federal civilian agencies in October 2026 to stop purchasing and remove all products and services from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek from government IT systems, citing national security concerns. The directive, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, also covers third-party products and services built on DeepSeek’s technology, though agencies may apply for exceptions.
The DHS warned that sensitive data from US government users could potentially be accessible to Chinese authorities under Chinese law, given DeepSeek’s operations in China. The order applies to both new purchases and existing systems already in use across federal civilian agencies.
The move extends restrictions already in place. A law passed in December 2025 had previously targeted DeepSeek’s use in intelligence and national security systems; the latest order broadens that ban to the wider civilian federal government.
China’s Foreign Ministry pushed back, with spokesperson Mao Ning stating that Beijing opposes “overstretching the concept of national security and politicizing technology and trade issues,” and adding that China would “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.”
DeepSeek has faced mounting scrutiny since its R1 reasoning model disrupted the AI industry in January 2025, triggering a sharp sell-off in Nvidia shares. A September 2026 US report accused DeepSeek and five other Chinese AI companies — including Alibaba and Moonshot AI — of using large-scale model distillation to extract information from American AI systems. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have separately raised concerns about alleged unauthorized attempts by DeepSeek to distill their models.
The order arrives against a backdrop of intensifying US-China competition in AI. China is also reportedly considering export restrictions on 23 AI-related technologies, including chip designs and certain advanced AI models, according to Bloomberg.