DHS Orders DeepSeek Procurement Ban and Removal Across Federal Civilian Agencies

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has ordered federal civilian agencies to stop procuring and remove DeepSeek products, citing supply-chain security and data-exposure risks following a Federal Acquisition Security Council review. The exclusion covers IT products and services from Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and its affiliates; reporting indicates it also extends to third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek implementations. A Federal Register notice detailing the restriction is scheduled for October 20, 2026.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin cited China-based data storage, collection of personally identifiable information, and potential Chinese government access to sensitive prompts and responses. Agencies may request exceptions with compelling justification at least 60 days in advance and are encouraged to strengthen monitoring and data-exfiltration controls during removal. The reported third-party scope makes software provenance an important compliance consideration, while security commentary distinguishes locally deployed models with appropriate controls from foreign-hosted services. The reports do not establish that DeepSeek compromised federal networks or transferred federal data to the Chinese government.