The U.S. government has ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products from their systems, according to reports published October 19–20. The directive, issued by the Department of Homeland Security, also covers third-party products and services built on DeepSeek’s models, and bars agencies from buying them going forward.
What the order requires
Coverage describes a DHS directive that tells civilian agencies to pull DeepSeek software and DeepSeek-based services from their IT systems and to procure none. Reports say the directive was issued in July but only became public this week. It rests on the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, and agencies can request exceptions. The Department of Defense is not covered by this particular order.
DHS’s stated concern is that sensitive data from U.S. government users could be reachable by Chinese authorities under Chinese law. Those are assessed risks; the reports do not describe a confirmed incident of data transfer.
China’s response
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing opposes the “overstretching” of the concept of national security and the politicizing of science, technology, economic and trade issues. According to reports, China’s Commerce Ministry demanded on Tuesday that the Trump administration reverse the ban and warned Beijing would take “all necessary measures.”
Why it matters
Earlier DeepSeek restrictions in the U.S. applied mainly to government devices and were adopted by individual agencies and states. This order is broader: because it reaches products built on DeepSeek’s open models, vendors selling to civilian agencies may need to check whether their tools depend on them. How agencies and contractors audit that dependency, and whether Beijing follows through on its warning, are the points to watch.