{
  "id": 15663456,
  "title": "US orders DeepSeek removed from federal systems, citing national security risks",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/us-orders-deepseek-removed-from-federal-systems-citing-national-15663456",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-19T21:49:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3371431/us-orders-deepseek-removed-federal-systems-citing-national-security-risks"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The US government has directed federal civilian agencies to eliminate DeepSeek products and affiliated third-party services from their information systems due to national security risks. According to a notice released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday, employing DeepSeek could lead to sensitive data being transferred to the People's Republic of China (PRC). This advisory was issued by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on July 24. The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., has yet to comment on the matter. The DeepSeek R1 model, unveiled in 2025, sent shockwaves through the global AI landscape and prompted a response from US President Donald Trump, who referred to it as a \"wake-up call\" for the American tech sector. The company has since come under scrutiny from Washington policymakers, who perceive its Chinese ownership as a potential threat to national security. In April 2025, the House Select Committee on China published a report alleging that DeepSeek posed a \"profound threat to our nation's security.\" In June of the same year, legislators introduced the \"No Adversarial AI Act\" aimed at curbing federal usage of AI tools linked to China. Committee Chairman John Moolenaar described the legislation as \"a new Cold War – and AI is the strategic technology at the centre.\" Beijing's embassy in the U.S. dismissed the allegations as \"slander and smears,\" maintaining that China values AI safety and ethics. A separate bill, the \"No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act,\" was also proposed in the House of Representatives in February 2025, followed by a Senate version. The bipartisan legislation aims to ban DeepSeek from federal government devices. This action is part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to curb Chinese technology amid escalating competition for global AI dominance. Several other federal agencies, such as the Department of Commerce and the Navy, have similarly restricted the use of DeepSeek on government systems. Meanwhile, DeepSeek ranked as a \"trending software vendor\" in Ramp's June 2026 list of affordable alternatives to costly American AI providers like OpenAI and Anthropic. Ara Kharazian, lead economist at Ramp Economics Lab, noted that companies are increasingly turning to cheaper Chinese models due to the high costs of American AI providers, even if it means transmitting US data through China-hosted servers.",
  "summary": "Citing national security concerns, the US government has ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products and any third-party services developed using the Chinese artificial intelligence model from their information systems. In a notice made public on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also barred agencies from acquiring DeepSeek products and services, including those…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
        "title": "US orders DeepSeek removed from federal systems, citing national security risks",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/us-orders-deepseek-removed-from-federal-systems-citing-national",
        "published": "2026-10-19T21:49:10.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "SiliconANGLE",
        "title": "Trump administration orders ban on DeepSeek in federal agencies",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/trump-administration-orders-ban-on-deepseek-in-federal-agencies",
        "published": "2026-10-20T00:47:23.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}