US orders federal agencies to remove DeepSeek AI products

In short: The US government has ordered federal civilian agencies to stop buying and remove DeepSeek AI products, including other services built using DeepSeek technology.

What happened

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an order telling federal civilian agencies to exclude and remove products made by DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company. The order also applies to third-party products and services that use DeepSeek technology, even if they are sold by other companies.

DHS said the decision is tied to national security concerns. In simple terms, the worry is about data (information) that government workers might put into these tools. DHS warned that some of that information could be accessible to Chinese authorities under Chinese law.

Agencies are told not to make new purchases, and to remove DeepSeek-related tools already installed in government systems. The order allows agencies to request exceptions in some cases.

China criticized the move. A spokesperson from China’s Foreign Ministry said Beijing opposes what it called expanding the idea of national security to include technology and trade.

Why it matters

Many AI tools work like a helpful assistant where you paste text, documents, or questions and get answers back. If a government office uses a tool linked to a foreign company, officials may worry that sensitive information could travel where it should not. This order also matters because it does not just target one app. It also targets other software that quietly relies on the same underlying DeepSeek technology, like banning a specific engine and also banning cars that use it.

Source: TechCrunch AI