US orders civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek from systems
Government AI buying now depends on foreign technology supply-chain checks.
Overview
has shifted from a popular Chinese AI service to restricted software across much of the US government. A order, signed on July 24 and made public in October 2026, tells civilian agencies to remove products, related services, and . The order also stops new purchases through . The is exempt.
DHS said sensitive data might reach Chinese authorities and pointed to malware and other online safety risks. Agencies should watch data leaving government websites during the removal. The order follows 2025 limits from defense, Commerce, and intelligence agencies, plus a . It signals that ownership, data handling, and supply risks matter as much as AI performance. This could slow government use, including in India, while boosting safer US-made or screened options.
Timeline
DHS cited possible data transfers to China and cybersecurity vulnerabilities
DHS said DeepSeek-operated services could collect information that, combined with public data, might reveal details about , government programs and plans to Chinese authorities. The order also cited concerns about servers located in China, malware and vulnerabilities reported in DeepSeek's . These are DHS-stated security risks, not a separate finding that every covered product had caused a confirmed breach.
DHS made the civilian DeepSeek order public and formalized the federal restriction
DHS filed the July 24 order for public inspection on October 19, 2026, with publication scheduled for October 20. The public disclosure clarified that the measure covers federal civilian agencies while leaving the outside its scope. It also made the removal, procurement and exception procedures available for public scrutiny.
The U.S. ordered civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products and barred new procurement
The Department of Homeland Security ordered to remove DeepSeek products and certain third-party products built using DeepSeek implementations from their IT systems, while barring of DeepSeek products and services. The order establishes U.S. restrictions but does not show that other governments adopted the same approach or that network monitoring was required.
DHS urged agencies to monitor network traffic until DeepSeek removal was complete
While agencies removed covered products, DHS encouraged them to monitor traffic flowing into and out of agency systems and websites. It also called for enhanced logging, stronger controls on and detection of . Network monitoring adds an enforcement layer distinct from deleting software and blocking future purchases.
DHS barred civilian agencies from buying DeepSeek products and services
The order immediately excluded DeepSeek, affiliated entities and their products from civilian-agency procurement. The restriction covers , , and other buying channels for information-technology hardware, software and services. The procurement ban is designed to prevent covered technology from returning through vendors after removal.
DHS expanded the removal order to third-party services built with DeepSeek models
The order covers products provided by DeepSeek and affiliated entities, as well as third-party products and services developed using . Agencies therefore must look beyond the standalone chatbot or directly branded software. The scope reaches downstream offerings that embed or depend on DeepSeek technology.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin ordered civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek
Secretary Markwayne Mullin signed on July 24, 2026. The order applies to federal civilian agencies, including Treasury, State and Justice, but excludes the Department of Defense. It was issued under the federal and required covered technology to be removed or receive an exception.
Congress restricted DeepSeek use in intelligence-community systems
Congress imposed a restriction on using DeepSeek in systems operated by the . The action expanded the response beyond individual agency decisions and gave legislative force to concerns about a Chinese AI provider. It also preceded the later civilian-agency order by several months.
Commerce Department bureaus banned DeepSeek on government devices
Bureaus across the Commerce Department told employees that DeepSeek could not be used on government devices. The measure limited access at the device level rather than creating a government-wide procurement prohibition. It showed that civilian agencies were beginning to apply their own controls while broader federal policy developed.
DISA reportedly blocked DeepSeek access on its networks
The reportedly blocked access to on its networks in January 2025, according to later reporting. The available evidence supports the network-blocking claim but does not independently establish the broader national-security rationale or the full scope of the action.