The Trump administration has banned Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek from civilian US government agencies over security concerns.
The Department of Homeland Security on Monday published an order directing federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek-related technology from their IT systems and prohibiting them from purchasing the company’s products and services.
The restriction also covers third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek’s technology.
The ban comes amid rising geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing, with artificial intelligence becoming a major focus of the two countries’ competition for technological dominance.
The order, initially issued on July 24, covers federal civilian agencies, including the Treasury, State and Justice departments, but excludes the Department of Defense.
Since DeepSeek gained global attention in early 2025, several US government agencies have introduced various restrictions on the Chinese AI startup and its technology.
In March 2025, bureaus within the US Commerce Department informed staff that DeepSeek was banned on government devices, Reuters reported at the time.
The Defense Information Systems Agency had also moved to block access to DeepSeek models in January 2025, according to Bloomberg.
The latest Department of Homeland Security order describes DeepSeek’s AI models as presenting “multiple threat vectors”, citing concerns that Chinese authorities could gain access to sensitive data and that the technology could expose systems to cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
