US Orders All Federal Civilian Agencies to Remove Chinese AI Platform DeepSeek Over National Security Concerns

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has ordered all federal civilian agencies to immediately remove DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence platform, from their systems, citing risks of data exposure to Beijing and potential threats to national security. The directive, originally issued in July and made public on October 20, invokes the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act (FASCSA) to ban not only DeepSeek products themselves but also any third-party applications and services built on the company's technology. The order, signed by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, applies to Treasury, State, Justice, and other civilian departments but excludes the Department of Defense, which has its own procurement authorities.