What Happened?

If you work for a federal agency, or for a company that does work for one, the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) app DeepSeek is now off-limits for that work. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an order Oct. 20 telling every federal civilian agency to block DeepSeek products and remove any already in use right away, the first time DHS has used its power to cut a company out of federal technology, according to a Congressional Research Service reportand a Legis1 review of the order. ​

The ban also covers federal contractors and the companies they hire, plus outside tools built on DeepSeek’s technology. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin signed the order July 24, nearly three months before it became public, the law firm Haynes Boone noted.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

The order points to Chinese law, including a 2017 cybersecurity law that could let Beijing force DeepSeek to hand over sensitive information. DHS also says the company collects what users type, requires personal details to sign up and runs a poorly secured mobile app, so data entered into it could reach U.S. adversaries.

Government testers found other problems. With a common trick for getting around its safeguards, DeepSeek’s most secure model answered 94% of plainly harmful requests, compared with 8% for U.S. models, the National Institute of Standards and Technology found last year. Its models also repeated four times as many misleading Chinese Communist Party talking points.

Both Sides, Now

U.S. security agencies see a broader pattern. In a joint warning, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the FBI and the National Security Agency said DeepSeek and other Chinese AI firms ran large-scale efforts to copy American AI models. The Pentagon issued its own DeepSeek order Sept. 8, as the defense policy law Congress passed last December requires, and the director of national intelligence acted alongside DHS.

Beijing objects. “China consistently opposes the overstretching of the concept of national security,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Oct. 20, The Hacker News reported.

What Happens Next?

Agencies had 60 days after July 24 to ask for exceptions, and CISA will help them carry out the order. DHS must review it within a year and every year after that.

In Congress, bills to bar DeepSeek from government devices, including the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act, had not moved past committee as of Oct. 21, according to The Hacker News. The research office says lawmakers could also check how agencies carry out the order or consider wider limits on Chinese AI.

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