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DHS Orders Civilian Agencies to Remove DeepSeek AI

By Drooid · Oct 20, 2026, 10:19 PM UTC · How we work

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Chinese government surveillance risk

On October 19 2026, the Department of Homeland Security ordered all civilian U.S. agencies to remove DeepSeek AI products and related third-party services from their IT systems.
Officials warned the tools could let the Chinese government surveil U.S. data because China’s legal system grants the state broad access to private servers.
DeepSeek’s servers are in China, where law allows state access to private data.

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Trump security directive

On Oct. 19, 2026 the Department of Homeland Security ordered civilian U.S. agencies to purge DeepSeek AI products and related third-party services from their IT systems.
The directive, issued under President Donald Trump, stresses national-security risks and explicitly spares the Department of Defense from the ban.
DHS warned DeepSeek models could funnel sensitive U.S. data to China.
Treasury, State and Justice must comply, with agencies allowed a 60-day exemption justification.

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Chinese government surveillance risk

On October 19 2026, the Department of Homeland Security ordered all civilian U.S. agencies to remove DeepSeek AI products and related third-party services from their IT systems.
Officials warned the tools could let the Chinese government surveil U.S. data because China’s legal system grants the state broad access to private servers.
DeepSeek’s servers are in China, where law allows state access to private data.

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