DHS bans DeepSeek from all federal civilian agencies

The Department of Homeland Security has ordered all federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek AI products from their systems, citing multiple threat vectors that could give China's Communist Party access to U.S. government infrastructure. The order, published in the Federal Register, also prohibits future purchases of DeepSeek products and services. The DHS warned the technology could track users and transfer sensitive data to China. The ban follows earlier restrictions by the Commerce Department and U.S. Navy, and comes after DeepSeek's R1 model outperformed American rivals despite lower development costs.