US Orders Federal Agencies to Ban Chinese DeepSeek AI Tools Over Security Fears

The United States has ordered all federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek AI products and any third‑party services built on its technology, citing national‑security concerns. The Department of Homeland Security warned that sensitive government data processed by DeepSeek could be accessed by Chinese authorities under Chinese law. The order expands a December 2025 law that already barred the model from intelligence‑related national‑security systems, now covering new purchases and existing IT setups in civilian agencies. China responded through Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, saying Beijing opposes “overstretching the concept of national security and politicizing technology and trade issues” and will protect the legitimate rights of Chinese firms. The move comes as U.S.‑China AI competition intensifies; DeepSeek’s low‑cost, open‑weight models challenge U.S. offerings from OpenAI and Meta. Bloomberg reported that China may impose export limits on 23 AI‑related technologies, including chip designs and advanced models, to manage security and misuse risks. The Chinese AI lab has faced global scrutiny since its R1 reasoning model caused a sharp Nvidia share drop in January 2025. A September report accused DeepSeek and five other Chinese AI firms, including Alibaba and Moonshot AI, of using large‑scale model distillation to pull information from American AI systems.

Context

The ban reflects growing U.S. efforts to control foreign AI tools that could expose sensitive data, while China’s pushback shows the broader tech rivalry shaping global policy decisions.