US bans DeepSeek technology across federal civilian agencies

US bans Deepseek technology across federal civilian agencies

The Department of Homeland Security has barred federal civilian agencies from using DeepSeek technology, requiring removal of existing products and a halt to new purchases. The ban also covers affiliated companies' products and third-party services built on DeepSeek. It sets no removal deadline and names no specific security concern, and the order does not define what counts as "adopting" DeepSeek. Whether AI gateways such as OpenRouter fall under it is unclear. The order rests on a 2018 US law covering federal procurement supply-chain security.

Why it matters: DHS extends its DeepSeek ban to affiliated companies and third-party services, pushing procurement limits past direct deployments into the wider tech supply chain.