US Bans DeepSeek AI from Government Use Amid Tech Tensions with China
The US has ordered all artificial intelligence (AI) technology from the Chinese firm DeepSeek to be removed from most government systems.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has banned all use of DeepSeek within civilian government agencies, and any technology built with the aid of its AI models. As a powerful open-source AI model, DeepSeek has been seen as a disruptive force in the ongoing AI technology race.
While the DHS notice did not detail specific security concerns, the White House has criticized AI firms from China this year. The ban follows criticism of Chinese AI from the Trump administration and American firms.
Anthropic and OpenAI, both set to go public soon, have accused Chinese AI firms, including DeepSeek, of copying their AI models.
US President Donald Trump has highlighted China as the key US rival in AI development, viewing it as crucial to the country's future.
DeepSeek's popularity has grown since its 2025 release, with its models in high demand. While its free chatbot app is a top download, US tech companies also use DeepSeek in their services. Startups have embraced open-source models like DeepSeek due to their lower costs compared to closed models.
The latest version of DeepSeek, released last week, has received praise for its performance in coding tasks, even outperforming some of the most advanced tools from OpenAI.