US Department of Homeland Security bans federal civilian agencies from using DeepSeek technology

The US Department of Homeland Security has banned federal civilian agencies from using DeepSeek AI technology. Agencies must remove existing DeepSeek products and are prohibited from purchasing new ones. The ban also extends to affiliated companies and third-party services built on DeepSeek. This order is based on the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, which does not specify a removal deadline or detail specific security concerns. Reports indicate that the government had previously considered restricting Chinese open-weight models but postponed the move after objections from Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Meta.