US Government issues order to remove all DeepSeek products and third-party services developed using DeepSeek immediately, as more fears of Chinese LLM loom large

Date:
Fri, 23 Oct 2026 20:20:00 +0000

Description:
The US government has ordered civilian federal agencies to remove DeepSeek products and related services over concerns about Chinese intelligence access.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter US civilian federal agencies must immediately remove DeepSeek from government systems Federal departments can no longer purchase DeepSeek products or affiliated services Military and intelligence organizations remain excluded The US government has directed civilian federal departments to immediately eliminate DeepSeek artificial intelligence software and related services from their technology systems.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the directive over concerns the Chinese company's technology could expose sensitive information to
foreign intelligence operations. The restriction also covers applications incorporating DeepSeek models, although privately owned computers and
personal installations fall outside the federal government's directive.
Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: DeepSeek faces removal over security concerns The directive requires affected agencies to
discontinue purchases involving DeepSeek technology, including offerings supplied by affiliates and external developers incorporating its models.

Government departments must also withdraw affected applications from approved purchasing catalogs, supplier inventories and online procurement platforms used for federal acquisitions. You may like DeepSeek AI tools banned from US government agency systems as rift with China grows FBI, NSA warn Chinese AI companies like DeepSeek and Alibaba are reportedly carrying out 'industrial-scale' distillation campaigns to boost their models Federal agencies sued amid allegations Trump admin could be using AI safety framework to hide AI manipulation and corruption

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin authorized the measure following a recommendation from the Federal Acquisition Security Council, which evaluates potential technology supply chain threats.

The decision relies on the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, legislation allowing authorities to restrict technologies considered dangerous. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the
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Officials cited Chinese legislation permitting state intelligence organizations to demand corporate information, raising concerns about government access to data processed through DeepSeek.

The department also identified privacy concerns involving account
registration information, user monitoring and device fingerprinting
associated with the company's hosted services.

Because conversational AI systems process submitted prompts, officials warned that government employees could inadvertently disclose confidential material through ordinary interactions with DeepSeek. What to read next US inherits Venezuelan surveillance state built on banned Chinese tech and AI and it shows no signs of switching Huawei and DeepSeek release open source AI tools in a bid to lower Nvidia exposure but will programmers make the switch? Chinese military reportedly uses American AI models to train its defense systems

Information obtained through such exchanges could potentially support intelligence assessments involving American citizens, federal operations, or other sensitive government activities.

Security evaluations conducted by NowSecure also identified serious vulnerabilities affecting DeepSeek's iOS application, adding technical concerns to the government's assessment.

However, the directive concerns federal technology procurement and deployment rather than establishing a nationwide prohibition on individuals downloading or operating DeepSeek. Agencies must comply, while exceptions remain possible Military organizations and intelligence agencies are excluded because their procurement arrangements operate under separate authorities.

Departments seeking permission to retain affected technology must submit written exemption applications through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Such applications must reach the relevant Homeland Security official within
60 days and explain why an exception is necessary for government operations.

Applicants must identify the relevant products, provide substantial operational or national security grounds, and propose safeguards addressing the identified security concerns.

While completing the removal of DeepSeek, agencies are expected to strengthen network surveillance, record suspicious information transfers, and
investigate unusual activity involving affected systems.

CISA will assist departments with technical implementation, while the
Homeland Security Secretary must reconsider the directive annually.

The notice appears in the Federal Register under docket DHS-2026-0628, establishing the administrative record supporting the government's exclusion and removal requirements.

Although officials describe several potential security exposures, the
supplied notice does not establish that every DeepSeek deployment has transmitted confidential American information.

Its application to third-party implementations also raises practical
questions about identifying affected software, particularly where developers operate DeepSeek models independently. Follow TechRadar on Google News and
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/us-gov-issues-order-to-remove-all-deepseek-produ cts-and-third-party-services-developed-using-deepseek-immediately-as-unwarrant ed-fear-of-chinese-llm-looms-large


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