A U.S. order directs federal civilian agencies to stop buying DeepSeek technology and remove it from government systems, with exceptions available.
The U.S. has directed federal civilian agencies to stop purchasing DeepSeek products and services and remove them from government IT systems, TechCrunch reported on October 20, 2026, citing the Department of Homeland Security. The order also covers third-party products and services built using DeepSeek technology. Agencies may request exceptions, but the report does not specify a removal deadline.
DHS’s stated concern is the handling of user data. The order warns that information supplied by U.S. government users could potentially be accessible to Chinese authorities under Chinese law; it presents this as a risk, not as evidence that a particular disclosure has occurred. The directive applies to existing systems as well as future purchases, broadening restrictions beyond DeepSeek’s own products.
The action builds on a law passed in December 2025 that targeted DeepSeek use in intelligence national security systems. The new order extends the restrictions to civilian agencies. The report does not identify every affected product or agency, nor does it detail how exception requests will be decided.
China’s Foreign Ministry objected to the move. Spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing opposed what it described as the politicization of technology and trade issues and said China would protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.
The order comes amid broader U.S.-China competition over AI. The article notes separate U.S. allegations that DeepSeek and five other Chinese AI companies used large-scale model distillation to obtain information from American AI systems. OpenAI and Anthropic have also raised concerns about suspected or unauthorized efforts to collect outputs from their models. Those claims are separate from the DHS data-access rationale for this order, and should not be treated as findings established by the directive itself.