US Government issues order to remove all DeepSeek products and third-party services developed using DeepSeek immediately, as more fears of Chinese LLM loom large

Date:
Fri, 23 Oct 2026 20:20:00 +0000

Description:
The US government has ordered civilian federal agencies to remove DeepSeek products and related services over concerns about Chinese intelligence access.

FULL STORY
Military and intelligence organizations
remain excluded -- The US government has directed
civilian federal departments to immediately eliminate DeepSeek artificial intelligence software and related services from their technology systems.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the directive over concerns the Chinese company's technology could expose sensitive information to
foreign intelligence operations. The restriction also covers applications incorporating DeepSeek models, although privately owned computers and
personal installations fall outside the federal government's directive.

The directive requires affected agencies to discontinue
purchases involving DeepSeek technology, including offerings
supplied by affiliates and external developers incorporating its models.

Government departments must also withdraw affected applications from approved purchasing catalogs, supplier inventories and online procurement platforms used for federal acquisitions.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin authorized the measure following a recommendation from the Federal Acquisition Security Council, which evaluates potential technology supply chain threats.

The decision relies on the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, legislation allowing authorities to restrict technologies considered dangerous.

Officials cited Chinese legislation permitting state intelligence organizations to demand corporate information, raising concerns about government access to data processed through DeepSeek.

The department also identified privacy concerns involving account
registration information, user monitoring and device fingerprinting
associated with the company's hosted services.

Because conversational AI systems process submitted prompts, officials warned that government employees could inadvertently disclose confidential material through ordinary interactions with DeepSeek.

Information obtained through such exchanges could potentially support intelligence assessments involving American citizens, federal operations, or other sensitive government activities.

Security evaluations conducted by NowSecure also identified serious vulnerabilities affecting DeepSeek's iOS application, adding technical concerns to the government's assessment.

However, the directive concerns federal technology procurement and deployment rather than establishing a nationwide prohibition on individuals downloading or operating DeepSeek.

Agencies must comply, while exceptions remain possible

Military organizations and intelligence agencies are excluded because their procurement arrangements operate under separate authorities.

Departments seeking permission to retain affected technology must submit written exemption applications through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Such applications must reach the relevant Homeland Security official within
60 days and explain why an exception is necessary for government operations.

Applicants must identify the relevant products, provide substantial operational or national security grounds, and propose safeguards addressing the identified security concerns.

While completing the removal of DeepSeek, agencies are expected to strengthen network surveillance, record suspicious information transfers, and
investigate unusual activity involving affected systems.

CISA will assist departments with technical implementation, while the
Homeland Security Secretary must reconsider the directive annually.

The notice appears in the Federal Register under docket DHS-2026-0628, establishing the administrative record supporting the government's exclusion and removal requirements.

Although officials describe several potential security exposures, the
supplied notice does not establish that every DeepSeek deployment has transmitted confidential American information.

Its application to third-party implementations also raises practical
questions about identifying affected software, particularly where developers operate DeepSeek models independently.

Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/us-gov-issues-order-to-remove-all-deepseek-produ cts-and-third-party-services-developed-using-deepseek-immediately-as-unwarrant ed-fear-of-chinese-llm-looms-large

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* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)