Federal Government Orders DeepSeek AI Removed From All Agency Systems
The directive formalizes a pattern of executive action against Chinese-origin technology platforms on national security grounds, extending a policy approach that has shaped federal procurement for...
The federal government has ordered all executive branch agencies to remove DeepSeek, a Chinese-developed artificial intelligence application, from government-owned and government-operated systems, citing national security concerns, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. The directive applies across federal systems as of the date of issuance, though the specific originating agency and the exact text of the order had not been made fully public in records available as of October 19, 2026.
DeepSeek is an AI language model developed by a Chinese company of the same name. It gained attention in early 2025 after releasing models that performed comparably to leading American AI systems at a fraction of the reported development cost. The company is headquartered in Hangzhou, China, and is majority-owned by the quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer Capital Management.
The basis for the removal order, as described in available reporting, centers on the risk that data processed through DeepSeek could be accessible to the Chinese government under the People's Republic of China's 2017 National Intelligence Law, which requires Chinese organizations and citizens to cooperate with state intelligence work when requested. That law has been cited in prior U.S. Government actions, including proceedings related to TikTok's parent company ByteDance.
Federal procurement and technology security directives can originate from several sources, including the Office of Management and Budget, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Which office issued the DeepSeek directive, and whether it was issued as a binding memorandum or an informal agency guidance, was not confirmed in publicly available records as of publication. The full text of the order, if issued in writing, would be the document that would answer those questions.
This action fits within a pattern of executive branch restrictions on Chinese-origin software and hardware applied across administrations. In 2020, the Trump administration issued executive orders targeting TikTok and WeChat under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Biden administration revoked those specific orders in 2021 but directed the Commerce Department to develop a new framework for reviewing foreign-controlled software. In 2022, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included a provision banning TikTok from federal devices. That ban was codified further in subsequent spending legislation.
Separate from executive action, Congress has also moved legislatively on Chinese-origin AI. The No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act was introduced in the House in early 2025 by Representatives Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat of New Jersey, and Darin LaHood, a Republican of Illinois. The bill would prohibit DeepSeek on federal devices. Congressional records as of publication do not show that the bill was enacted into law, meaning the current removal order, if operative, would stem from executive authority rather than a statutory mandate.
The practical scope of the directive covers any federal employee or contractor using a government-issued device or government network. Whether the order extends to contractor-owned devices used for federal work, or to cloud computing environments procured by agencies, was not specified in available reporting. Federal Acquisition Regulation provisions and agency-specific supplement rules govern how such restrictions typically flow to contractors, but the application to AI services accessed via cloud interfaces represents a developing area of procurement policy.
Past technology restrictions have raised questions about implementation consistency across agencies. A 2023 Government Accountability Office report found that agency compliance with prior software security directives varied, with some agencies lacking the inventory systems needed to identify all prohibited software. Whether a similar compliance infrastructure is in place for AI applications is unknown. The relevant oversight document would be any GAO or agency inspector general review of AI software governance conducted since 2025.
The national security rationale underlying the order is not unique to DeepSeek. The Commerce Department's Entity List currently includes dozens of Chinese technology firms subject to export controls. The Department of Defense maintains a separate list, sometimes called the Section 1260H list, of companies it has determined are working with or on behalf of the Chinese military. DeepSeek's parent company, High-Flyer Capital Management, does not appear on either list based on publicly available records as of October 19, 2026, though that status could change.
What remains unknown as of publication includes: the precise legal authority cited in the removal directive, the name of the official or office that issued it, the compliance deadline given to agencies, and whether any exemption process exists for research or intelligence analysis purposes. The directive itself, if issued as a written memorandum, would be the record that answers each of those questions. A Freedom of Information Act request to OMB or CISA would be the mechanism to obtain it if it is not voluntarily released.