The Department of Homeland Security ordered U.S. civilian agencies to stop using AI tools from Chinese startup DeepSeek and to remove any third-party products built on its models, citing “multiple threat vectors” and the risk of sensitive government data flowing to China. The notice pointed to DeepSeek’s China-based servers and Beijing’s legal authority to access private infrastructure as key concerns. The directive does not cover the military or intelligence services; the Pentagon declined to comment. DeepSeek, which roiled the AI market in 2025 with a low-cost, high-performance chatbot and has since released its V4 model, has been accused by U.S. officials of appropriating capabilities from American rivals. The move underscores intensifying U.S.-China competition in advanced technology even as Presidents Trump and Xi have established a channel to manage AI-related incidents ahead of a planned November summit in Shenzhen.
Related articles:
— Artificial Intelligence Act (EU)
— United States sanctions against Huawei
— Entity List
— National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China
— Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China
