What We Know About the US Ban on DeepSeek AI for Government Use

The Department of Homeland Security has barred all use of DeepSeek's artificial intelligence technology across civilian federal agencies, including any software built with the Chinese firm's models, according to BBC News. DHS made the order public on Monday, though the restriction has been in effect since the end of July, the BBC reported.

What did DHS actually order?

The directive removes DeepSeek's AI models and any technology that incorporates them from civilian government systems, DHS said, per the BBC. The agency did not publicly detail the specific security concerns behind the move, the BBC reported.

Which agencies are covered, and which are exempt?

The ban applies to civilian departments, including the Department of the Treasury, the Department of State and the Department of Justice, according to the BBC. The Department of Defense is excluded from the order, the BBC reported, meaning military and defense-linked systems are not subject to the same restriction.

Why is the Trump administration targeting DeepSeek?

The order follows broader criticism of Chinese AI firms from the Trump administration. White House tech lead Michael Kratsios wrote in an internal memo earlier this year that "malicious exploitation" of American AI firms had been occurring, "mainly by rival firms in China," the BBC reported. OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which are preparing to list on public markets in the coming months, have separately claimed their AI models were essentially copied by Chinese AI firms, including DeepSeek, according to the BBC. President Trump has described China as the United States' primary rival in AI development, the BBC reported.

How much does DeepSeek cost to build and run compared with US models?

DeepSeek said it spent about $6 million to train the debut version of its model last year, versus roughly $100 million in costs tied to OpenAI's GPT-4, the BBC reported, citing the company's own disclosure. That cost gap rattled technology stocks when it became public, according to the BBC. DeepSeek's models are open source, meaning they are free to access, which the BBC said has made the technology cheaper for developers to deploy than closed models such as Google's Gemini, Anthropic's Claude or OpenAI's Codex.

Which companies still use DeepSeek's technology?

Despite the federal restriction, DeepSeek's models remain embedded in commercial products. Snowflake, Vercel and OpenRouter all incorporate DeepSeek into their offerings, the BBC reported. DeepSeek's free chatbot app has also ranked among the most downloaded in Apple's App Store, according to the BBC, and the company released its most recent model update last week. Users online have said the newest version outperforms some of OpenAI's tools on tasks such as software coding, the BBC reported.

DHS, DeepSeek and the Chinese embassy in Washington have not responded to requests for comment, according to the BBC.

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