US Orders DeepSeek Removed From Federal Civilian Agency Systems

The United States has ordered every federal civilian agency to remove DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence company, from its computer systems, and to stop buying its products. The Department of Homeland Security order was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. It reaches further than the DeepSeek app itself. Third party products and services built using DeepSeek models must come out of agency systems too.

The notice is Exclusion and Removal Order number 2026-01, Federal Register document 2026-21447, docket DHS-2026-0628. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin signed the order on July 24, 2026. It was filed for public inspection on October 19, and published the next day. The department acted under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, after a review by the Federal Acquisition Security Council, an interagency body that vets risks in government supply chains.

What agencies have to do

The order has two parts. First, civilian agencies may no longer buy information technology products or services developed by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd, or its affiliated entities. Second, agencies must remove all DeepSeek and DeepSeek affiliate products from their information technology systems, along with any third party products and services developed using DeepSeek implementations.

That second part is the wide one. A tool sold under another company's name still has to go if it was built on a DeepSeek model. Agencies were also told in a July memo, made public this week, to watch traffic flowing in and out of government websites for risks linked to the tools while removal work goes ahead. The order covers civilian executive branch agencies. National security systems and secure compartmented information systems sit outside it, under separate authorities. An agency that wants an exception must ask in writing within 60 days of the order's issuance, with a strong justification and a plan to limit the risk.

Why Washington acted

Homeland Security said DeepSeek models present multiple threat vectors for federal systems, according to the notice and Reuters reporting on it. The department warned that use of the product may result in the transfer of sensitive data to the People's Republic of China if it is used by government employees or vendors. It said information gathered that way could be combined with public records to produce actionable intelligence on United States persons and on government agencies. The department also said the models themselves may contain malware or other security vulnerabilities.

A fight that started in 2025

DeepSeek stunned the technology industry in early 2025, when its R1 model matched leading American systems on several tests while being trained on less powerful chips and at a fraction of the cost, SiliconANGLE reported. The release rattled AI stocks and set off a scramble in Washington. Lawmakers introduced the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act in February 2025. Some agencies restricted the tools on their own, and the Commerce Department confirmed restrictions inside its systems, according to CyberScoop reporting cited this week.

What the order does not do

This is not a nationwide ban for the public. Private individuals and companies can still use DeepSeek legally, and users outside the United States are not covered. What changes is the federal workplace. Civilian agencies now have to find every place DeepSeek technology sits inside their systems, including inside software bought from other vendors, and take it out.