US Government issues order to remove all DeepSeek products and third-party services developed using DeepSeek immediately, as more fears of Chinese LLM loom large
The US government has ordered civilian federal agencies to remove DeepSeek products and related services over concerns about Chinese intelligence access.
Federal civilian agencies must immediately remove DeepSeek software and related services from their technology systems as concerns grow over the Chinese company's potential to expose sensitive data to foreign intelligence operations. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the directive, excluding military and intelligence organizations.
The restriction applies to DeepSeek applications that incorporate the models, while privately owned computers and personal installations are not covered. DeepSeek faces removal due to security concerns, requiring agencies to discontinue purchases involving the technology, including offerings from affiliates and external developers using its models.
Governments must also withdraw affected applications from procurement catalogs, supplier inventories, and online platforms used for federal acquisitions. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin authorized the measure after the Federal Acquisition Security Council recommended it, citing the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018.
Officials raised concerns about Chinese legislation enabling state intelligence organizations to demand corporate information, along with privacy issues related to account registration, user monitoring, and device fingerprinting. NowSecure's security evaluations revealed serious vulnerabilities in DeepSeek's iOS application, adding to the government's concerns.
Military and intelligence agencies are exempt from the directive because their procurement arrangements operate under separate authorities. Departments seeking permission to retain affected technology must submit exemption applications to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within 60 days, explaining why an exception is necessary for government operations.
CISA will assist agencies with technical implementation, and the Homeland Security Secretary must reconsider the directive annually.
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