The US Homeland Security Department has ordered the removal of products and third-party services of Chinese AI company Deepseek. In an order, DHS has banned US civilian agency IT systems from using any DeepSeek AI model. The US government is also banning acquisition of products and third-party services developed using DeepSeek technology by US civilian government agencies. In an order, DHS said that DeepSeek models pose “multiple threat vectors” and raised concerns that use of the product “may result in the transfer of sensitive data to the PRC if used by US government employees or vendors.” In its order, DHS also said that the use of DeepSeek by government agencies “could produce actionable intelligence on US persons and/or government agencies. The models themselves may contain malware or other security vulnerabilities.”In a memo passed in July this year, DHS told federal agencies to monitor flows of traffic in and out of government websites to address potential risks from DeepSeek. Previously, several US agencies, including the Department of Commerce and the Navy, have banned the use of DeepSeek on government devices. Multiple states including New York, Tennessee, and Virginia have taken similar steps.
When DeepSeek wiped hundreds of billions from WallStreet in one day
Incidentally, DeepSeek is the same Chinese AI company whose low-cost artificial intelligence (AI) model sent shock waves in the US stock market in January 2025. The selloff in the US stock market was prompted by the release of the free AI assistant from China’s DeepSeek that the startup said needed less data at a fraction of the cost of services from American technology companies.DeepSeek worries wiped over a trillion dollars from market value of some of the biggest US companies in semiconductor, power and infrastructure sectors. Nvidia alone lost about 17% or close to $593 billion in market value, a record one-day loss for any company.
What the summary of the DHS order on DeepSeek says
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is publishing notice of the Secretary of Homeland Security’s issuance of an order (1) excluding information technology products and services developed by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co, Ltd (DeepSeek), to include affiliated entities as defined in applicable regulations, from federal civilian agency procurements; and, (2) removing all DeepSeek and DeepSeek-affiliate products, and third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek implementations, from civilian agency information technology.
FCC to ban Chinese labs from testing US gadgets and equipment
Earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said that it will vote on October 29 to bar all Chinese labs from testing electronic devices such as smartphones, cameras and computers for use in the US, widening a previous action targeting Beijing. The FCC said it will prohibit test labs and certification bodies in countries including China that deny reciprocal treatment to US-based test labs. In 2025, the FCC banned testing of US electronics by labs owned or controlled by the Chinese government, and several dozen labs were barred.FCC Chair Brendan Carr had then said that 82% of electronics were tested in China, which does not have an agreement with the US. But the agency said this year that a substantial majority of China-based test labs were still testing US electronics. “Less than 4% of all electronic devices are tested in labs located inside the US,” Carr said, adding the FCC will “insist on fair and reciprocal treatment in international commerce.“