Washington:The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has mandated the removal of products developed by Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek from federal civilian agencies' information technology systems. This directive also includes a prohibition on the procurement of such products.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this decision was outlined in a notice scheduled for publication in the Federal Register. The order targets IT products and services from Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co. and its affiliates, extending the restrictions to third-party products using DeepSeek implementations.
The department issued this order under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, following a recommendation and supporting evidence from the Federal Acquisition Security Council. While the ban applies to federal civilian agency IT systems and procurements, it does not extend to private businesses or individuals in the U.S.
In a related development, the South Korean government took similar actions earlier in February 2025. South Korea's foreign, trade, and defense ministries restricted access to DeepSeek on government computers due to concerns about user data collection and potential information leaks.