US orders DeepSeek technology out of civilian federal IT systems

The US Department of Homeland Security has made public an order requiring civilian federal agencies to remove technology made by Chinese AI firm DeepSeek from their IT systems and stop buying its IT products. The removal requirement also covers third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek implementations, so it reaches beyond the company’s own chatbot. [1]

The order applies to civilian federal agencies, not to private businesses or the public. It excludes national-security and classified systems; Defense Department systems fall under separate authority. [1]

DHS says it acted after reviewing a Federal Acquisition Security Council recommendation. It cites the potential transfer of sensitive data to China and other security concerns, including research into DeepSeek’s iOS app. Those are the department’s reasons for the restriction, rather than a finding that data was transferred from every affected agency. [1]

The signed order is dated 24 July. It called for immediate removal or a written exception request within 60 days of its issue. The notice was filed for public inspection on 19 October, ahead of scheduled publication in the Federal Register on 20 October. It does not say how many agencies have completed removals or been granted exceptions. [1]