DHS Bans DeepSeek From All Federal Civilian Agencies, Cites Data Security and PRC Ties
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a binding order on October 19, 2026, prohibiting all federal civilian agencies from acquiring or using DeepSeek AI products, including third-party tools built on the Chinese company's models. The order cites risks of data transfer to the People's Republic of China and security vulnerabilities in the DeepSeek iOS application.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a binding order on October 19, 2026, banning all federal civilian agencies from acquiring or using products and services developed by the Chinese AI company DeepSeek.
The order, filed for public inspection on October 19 and published in the Federal Register on October 20, was issued under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018. It requires agencies to remove any existing DeepSeek-related technologies from their IT systems, including third-party tools that incorporate DeepSeek implementations.
The DHS identified multiple threat vectors associated with the Beijing-based company. The department said DeepSeek's account-generation processes collect personally identifiable information and may track user activity, potentially allowing the government of the People's Republic of China to access sensitive information. Officials warned that data transferred to the PRC could be combined with other information to create actionable intelligence on U.S. citizens and government programs.
The DHS also cited security vulnerabilities in the DeepSeek iOS application, which had previously been identified as containing multiple critical security flaws.
The ban extends beyond official DeepSeek applications to include any third-party products or software developed using DeepSeek implementations. Agencies seeking to retain a specific product that falls under these criteria may request an exception from the DHS.
The October 2026 directive follows a series of incremental restrictions placed on DeepSeek by various U.S. entities since early 2025. The U.S. Navy, NASA, and the Department of Commerce had previously barred the model on government-furnished equipment. Texas became the first state to prohibit its use on government devices in January 2025.
Internationally, Australia, Italy, Taiwan, and South Korea have also taken steps to restrict or investigate the technology over similar security concerns.
