US bans DeepSeek at civilian federal agencies

Civilian federal agencies in the US may not buy products from the Chinese AI company DeepSeek, and they must remove them from their information systems. That is the content of an order from the US Department of Homeland Security, DHS. The order is called FASCSA Exclusion and Removal Order #2026-01 and targets Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd. and affiliated entities.

The order is a mandate. The sources do not make clear how far the agencies have come in removing DeepSeek.

Also tools built on DeepSeek

According to Tech-Insider, the ban also covers third-party products and services developed with DeepSeek's models or the underlying implementations. That means a tool from another vendor could be affected if it is built on DeepSeek.

The order applies only to civilian federal agencies. States, private companies and consumers are not covered. According to Tech-Insider, DeepSeek's commercial API business outside the government is unaffected. An API is the connection companies use to plug an AI model into their own systems. According to Astig.ph, national security systems and sensitive compartmented intelligence systems are exempt.

Astig.ph also reports that within 60 days, agencies can submit written requests for exemptions if they can demonstrate mission-critical needs or national interests. The 60-day deadline appears only in Astig.ph. Gizmodo and Tech-Insider do not mention it. According to Astig.ph, DHS must review the order every year.

DHS: Risk to data and malicious code

According to DHS, use by employees or contractors could lead to sensitive data being transferred to China. DHS also assesses that the models may contain malware, meaning malicious code, or vulnerabilities.

According to DHS, DeepSeek's account creation collects personally identifiable information and can track and digitally fingerprint users. DHS believes data could end up with the Chinese government.

Tech-Insider points out that the notice does not refer to specific data breaches. It is based on structural concerns about who can gain access to data under Chinese national security law.

Conflicting dates in the sources

The order is based on the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018. According to Tech-Insider, it followed a recommendation from the Federal Acquisition Security Council after an interagency review.

The sources disagree on the timing. Gizmodo and Tech-Insider give October 19 as the issue date. Astig.ph reports that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin signed the order on July 24, 2026, and that it was classified until it was made available for public inspection on October 19. It was scheduled to be formally published in the Federal Register on October 20.

The ban follows earlier restrictions from the Navy and the Department of Commerce, Gizmodo reports. The sources include no response from DeepSeek.