The administration of US President Donald Trump has banned Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek from civilian federal government agencies, citing national security and cybersecurity concerns.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made public an order on Monday requiring federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek-related technology from their information technology systems and prohibiting them from procuring the company’s products and services.
The restriction also covers third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek’s technology.
The order, originally issued on July 24, applies to federal civilian agencies, including the departments of the Treasury, State and Justice, but excludes the Department of Defense.
The decision comes amid rising geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing, with artificial intelligence becoming a major battleground in the two countries’ competition for technological dominance.
According to the DHS order, DeepSeek’s AI models “present multiple threat vectors,” including the potential for Chinese authorities to access sensitive US government data and the risk of cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The department warned that using the models could result in sensitive government information being transferred to China, potentially exposing intelligence concerning American citizens and government programmes.
It also raised concerns that the models could contain malware or other security weaknesses, citing open-source research that identified multiple critical vulnerabilities in DeepSeek’s iOS application.
Since DeepSeek gained international attention in early 2025, several US government agencies have introduced restrictions on its use.
In January 2025, the Defense Information Systems Agency moved to block access to DeepSeek models, according to reports by Bloomberg.
In March of the same year, bureaus within the US Commerce Department instructed staff that DeepSeek was prohibited on government devices, Reuters reported.
Congress subsequently restricted the use of DeepSeek within intelligence community systems in December 2025.
The latest order allows executive agencies to request exemptions, including extensions to the compliance deadline, by submitting written justifications to the DHS within 60 days of the order’s issuance.
DeepSeek and China’s Embassy in the United Kingdom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Boluwatife Enome
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