The order covers agencies such as the Treasury, State, and Justice departments and bars them from buying or using products from other companies built on DeepSeek.
On Oct. 20, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made public an order requiring federal civilian agencies to stop buying products from Chinese AI company DeepSeek and to remove DeepSeek products already in their computer systems. The removal also covers products and services that other companies built using DeepSeek.
DHS says anything a government employee or vendor types into DeepSeek could end up in China, where Chinese law gives the Chinese government’s cyber and intelligence agencies wide access to private companies’ computer systems.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued the order on July 24. DHS published notice of it in the Federal Register on Oct. 20, the government’s daily publication of official rules and notices. The order applies to civilian agencies such as the Treasury, State, and Justice departments. It does not apply to the Department of War, the intelligence agencies, or the systems civilian agencies use for national security and classified work. Those fall outside DHS’s authority. The Department of War and intelligence agencies decide whether to remove a technology from their own systems and classified systems.
DHS says DeepSeek could send government information to China
DeepSeek offers free public-facing AI apps that relay user sessions to its servers in China. DHS warns that government employees or vendors who use them could transfer sensitive government data to China. DHS says that information, alone or combined with public data, could give China useful intelligence about Americans and government programs.
DHS also says DeepSeek collects personal information when users create an account and may track them and identify their devices.
DHS raised cybersecurity concerns, warning that DeepSeek’s AI models “may contain malware or other security vulnerabilities.” It cites outside security research from February 2025 that found multiple critical flaws in DeepSeek’s iPhone app.
Agencies cannot buy products that other companies built on DeepSeek
The order bars agencies from acquiring any DeepSeek product or service, including from its corporate affiliates. Agencies must take those offerings off the approved-product lists and online marketplaces they use to buy technology.
Agencies also cannot buy, and must remove, products and services that other companies built using DeepSeek to sell to the government.
Agencies must remove DeepSeek at once unless DHS grants an exception
The order took effect as soon as it was issued. An agency that needs more time, or wants an exemption, can ask DHS in writing. The order gave agencies 60 days from its issue to make that request and explain why, for example, by showing how the order would stop the agency from doing essential work. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), part of DHS, approves or rejects each request.
Until DeepSeek products are fully removed, DHS encourages agencies to monitor data moving in and out of their systems, keep more detailed activity records, limit how much data can leave, and flag unusual activity. CISA may give technical help to agencies that cannot comply on their own.
Background: other U.S. limits on DeepSeek and China’s response
Other parts of the government have already restricted DeepSeek. Commerce Department offices told staff in March 2025 that DeepSeek was banned on government devices, and Congress restricted its use in intelligence agency systems in December 2025, according to CNBC.
In September, the NSA, CISA, and FBI accused DeepSeek and five other Chinese AI companies of secretly training their own models on billions of answers drawn from American AI models.
Asked about the DHS order, China’s foreign ministry said it would protect its companies’ rights and interests, Reuters reported. Spokesperson Mao Ning said China “consistently opposes the over-generalization of national security as well as the politicization of science, technology and trade issues.”
The 2018 federal supply chain security law behind the order requires DHS to review it within a year and then annually thereafter.
