The US Department of Homeland Security has ordered all DeepSeek technology removed from federal civilian agency systems, and the Chinese company is barred from participating in government contracts, according to reports published on October 19, 2026. The BBC says DHS made the order public on Monday, but that the ban took effect at the end of July. Agencies within the Department of Defense are excluded; the order covers civilian bodies such as Treasury, State and Justice.

What the order requires

Engadget, citing a notice published in the Federal Register, reports that civilian agencies must exclude any DeepSeek products and remove existing related ones. SiliconANGLE adds that the ban reaches third-party services built with DeepSeek’s technology, and that future purchases of its products and services are prohibited. The BBC describes the scope as any technology built with the aid of DeepSeek’s AI models.

DHS invoked the 2018 Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act following a review by the Federal Acquisition Security Council, per SiliconANGLE. The notice warned that the technology could be used to “track or digitally fingerprint” users and could involve the “transfer of sensitive data” to China, and Engadget reports it also said DeepSeek’s models could “contain malware or other security vulnerabilities.” The BBC notes the notice did not detail the exact security concerns. Neither DHS, DeepSeek nor the Chinese embassy had commented at the time of the BBC’s report.

Background of US action against DeepSeek

Friction with Washington is not new. DeepSeek drew attention in 2025 when its R1 model matched rivals at far lower reported training cost; the BBC cites DeepSeek’s own figure of about $6 million for its debut model versus roughly $100 million for GPT-4. SiliconANGLE notes that the Commerce Department banned DeepSeek from government devices last year, the US Navy told its members not to use it, and New York State barred it from government devices. Engadget adds that two members of Congress proposed a bill last year to ban the chatbot from government devices.

The timing is notable. The announcement came days after DeepSeek released V4.1-Flash-1017, which the company described as smarter, faster and more efficient. The BBC also points to a White House memo from technology lead Michael Kratsios this year alleging “malicious exploitation” of American AI firms, mainly by Chinese rivals, and says Anthropic and OpenAI have claimed some Chinese firms essentially copied their models. These are allegations reported by the BBC; we have not seen evidence in the sources reviewed.

What it means for companies and developers

The order applies to federal civilian agencies and their vendors, not to private companies or individuals. But DeepSeek’s models are widely embedded. The BBC lists Snowflake, Vercel and OpenRouter among US firms that incorporate DeepSeek in their offerings, and notes startups favor open models because they cost a fraction of closed alternatives. Contractors that sell into civilian agencies may now need to check whether any component of their stack depends on DeepSeek, including hosted copies of its open weights.

That raises a harder question about open-weight models: banning a vendor is different from banning downloadable weights that anyone can run locally. The order’s reach over third-party services suggests agencies will focus on products “affiliated” with the company, but the practical boundary will depend on guidance we have not yet seen. For the underlying debate, see open vs closed AI models and our explainer on sovereign AI.

What to watch next

  • Implementation guidance from DHS on how affiliated and derivative products are identified.
  • Whether other governments or US states extend similar restrictions.
  • DeepSeek’s response, and any Chinese government reaction.
  • Vendor announcements about removing or replacing DeepSeek models in enterprise products.

Key takeaways

  • DHS ordered DeepSeek removed from federal civilian systems, effective from the end of July and made public October 19.
  • Defense Department agencies are excluded from this order.
  • The order cites data-transfer, fingerprinting and security risks but, per the BBC, gives few specifics.
  • DeepSeek is also barred from federal government contracts.
  • The ban does not apply to private-sector use, though many US firms use DeepSeek models.

Frequently asked questions

Does the ban apply to Defense Department agencies?

No. The BBC reports that agencies within the Department of Defense are excluded from this order.

Can individuals still use DeepSeek?

The order governs federal civilian agencies and their IT systems. It does not restrict private individuals.

What law was used?

SiliconANGLE reports DHS invoked the 2018 Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act.