Trump Administration Bans DeepSeek AI From Federal Civilian Agencies

The Department of Homeland Security on Monday disclosed an order directing civilian federal agencies to purge DeepSeek technology from their systems and halt any further purchases of the Chinese company's products. The directive, signed July 24 by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, applies to software developed by DeepSeek, its affiliates and third-party vendors that incorporate the technology, and it gives agencies a narrow process for seeking exceptions that DHS itself will approve or deny.

The ban covers agencies such as the Treasury, State and Justice departments but leaves the Pentagon untouched. It rests on concerns that DeepSeek's headquarters and servers sit in Hangzhou, China, where national intelligence laws compel private firms to assist government cyber operations. DHS stated that the company's models create multiple threat vectors because Beijing can access infrastructure holding user prompts and data that federal workers might upload, including personnel records and internal planning materials.

The move arrives amid broader restrictions already placed on DeepSeek. Congress barred the company's use inside intelligence community networks last December, and several agencies had imposed their own limits earlier. Administration officials have framed the latest step as a necessary safeguard in a field where artificial intelligence capabilities now sit at the center of strategic competition between Washington and Beijing.

China's foreign ministry responded by rejecting the decision as an overreach. Spokesperson Mao Ning told Reuters that Beijing would protect the rights of its companies and opposes treating routine technology issues as national security matters. The statement echoed long-standing Chinese criticism of U.S. export controls and investment screening that target firms such as Huawei and TikTok parent ByteDance.

DeepSeek gained rapid attention after releasing open-source models that performed competitively with leading Western systems at far lower cost. Federal agencies had begun testing the tools for routine tasks before the prohibition took effect. The company maintains that its products do not transmit sensitive data to China and that its architecture includes safeguards against unauthorized access, though DHS concluded those assurances were insufficient given Chinese legal requirements.

Analysts note that the exclusion of the Defense Department creates an uneven policy landscape, with military systems potentially still able to evaluate the technology under separate review processes. Lawmakers from both parties have signaled support for tighter scrutiny of foreign AI platforms, yet some technology advocates warn that blanket prohibitions risk slowing government adoption of cost-effective tools and could prompt retaliatory measures against U.S. firms operating in China.

The order does not restrict private-sector or state and local government use of DeepSeek, leaving those decisions to individual organizations weighing their own risk assessments. Administration officials have indicated they will continue to monitor developments in the AI sector and may expand restrictions if additional evidence of data exposure emerges.