DeepSeek AI Tools Banned from US Government Agency Systems as Gap with China Grows
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- 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 linked to the AI model.
- The move expands broader U.S. restrictions on Chinese technology across government infrastructure.
Donald Trump’s administration banned the Chinese artificial intelligence model DeepSeek from all civilian government agencies and ordered them to stop using it and remove it from their technology 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 issuance of an order by the Secretary of Homeland Security (1) that excludes information technology products and services developed by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd (DeepSeek), to include affiliated entities as defined in applicable regulations, from procurement by federal civilian agencies; and, (2) removes all products of DeepSeek and its affiliates, and third-party products and services developed using implementations of DeepSeek, from the information technology of civilian agencies.
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Multiple threat vectors
This is apparently not the first time the Trump administration has taken action against Chinese AI technology. According CNBCThe order was originally issued in late July of 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 that the US Congress restricted the use of DeepSeek on intelligence community systems late last year, and even earlier, in March, the US Department of Commerce told its staff not to use DeepSeek. The Defense Information Systems Agency banned it in January 2025.
In the latest DHS order, DeepSeek’s models were said to “present multiple threat vectors.” To use the tool, users must provide all types of data, from personally identifiable information (PII) to other commercial or proprietary information, which the company can use to “track and fingerprint users.” Additionally, China’s laws allow the government to easily access and collect data created and stored by private companies, meaning that information about American citizens can easily fall into the hands of the government. That, in turn, “could produce actionable intelligence about US persons and/or government programs,” the DHS explains.
“The models themselves may contain malware or other security vulnerabilities,” he stressed. “In fact, open source security research has found that the DeepSeek mobile app for iOS contains multiple critical vulnerabilities.”
When asked for comment, China’s Foreign Ministry told the Reuters news agency would safeguard the rights of its companies: “China systematically opposes the excessive generalization of national security, as well as the politicization of scientific, technological and commercial issues,” Mao Ning, spokesperson for the ministry, told the agency.
Trade war with China
US President Donald Trump has openly spoken against the use of Chinese technology and has already banned multiple companies and solutions. In his first term, he blacklisted hundreds of Chinese companies and subsidiaries, including telecoms giants Huawei and ZTE, semiconductor maker SMIC, drone maker DJI, and surveillance technology companies Hikvision and Dahua Technology. ZTE almost went bankrupt over this and Huawei ended up building its own mobile phone operating system, Harmony OS, after losing access to Google and Android. At the time, the United States 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 to install backdoors, which could allow China to spy on American communications.
In August 2026, during his second term, Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and prohibiting the import, installation or use of all foreign bulk energy systems in the country. He also said the government would analyze existing systems to isolate and eliminate 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 block 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.
Through CNBC
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