US bars DeepSeek AI from civilian government systems amid rising tech rivalry with China

The Department of Homeland Security announced that all artificial‑intelligence tools from Chinese company DeepSeek must be removed from civilian federal agencies. The order, made public on Monday, took effect at the end of July and applies to departments such as Treasury, State and Justice, while defense‑related agencies are exempt.

DeepSeek’s models are open‑source, meaning they can be accessed for free and at a lower cost than many commercial alternatives. Since its public debut in 2025, the technology has become popular, with its chatbot ranking among the most downloaded apps on the Apple App Store and its models being integrated into services offered by firms like Snowflake, Vercel and OpenRouter.

The DHS did not specify the security reasons behind the ban, but the move follows a broader pattern of criticism toward Chinese AI firms. Earlier this year, White House technology adviser Michael Kratsios warned in an internal memo that Chinese companies were “maliciously exploiting” American AI innovations. Both Anthropic and OpenAI, which are preparing for public listings, have alleged that Chinese rivals, including DeepSeek, have copied their models.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly framed China as the United States’ primary competitor in the AI field, describing the technology as vital to the nation’s future. The ban adds to a series of actions taken by the Trump administration and U.S. businesses to limit Chinese AI influence.

DeepSeek’s low‑cost development has drawn attention. The company reported spending about $6 million to train its first model, a fraction of the roughly $100 million cost cited for OpenAI’s GPT‑4. The disparity has pressured tech stocks and highlighted the competitive edge of open‑source AI.

The latest version of DeepSeek was released last week, and early users have praised its performance, claiming it outperforms leading tools from OpenAI on common tasks such as software coding. The DHS, DeepSeek and the Chinese embassy in Washington were contacted for comment.