US DHS orders civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek; China vows countermeasures
The Decoder reports that the US Department of Homeland Security recently ordered civilian federal agencies to remove all DeepSeek products from their IT systems, with the ban also covering software from other vendors built on DeepSeek's open-source models and prohibiting future purchases. Washington says it is concerned that Beijing could access sensitive data through DeepSeek; China's Foreign Ministry accused the US of stretching the concept of national security, and the Commerce Ministry demanded that the ban be lifted and vowed resolute countermeasures. The Decoder notes that China does not approve ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and that since 2023 the Cyberspace Administration has reviewed AI services for political compliance, and it characterizes Beijing's protest as mainly a political signal that lays the groundwork for future retaliation.
The reported order extends a US federal ban beyond DeepSeek's own products to downstream software built on its open-source models, and Beijing's vow of countermeasures signals the AI dispute is becoming a market-access fight, The Decoder reports.
China protests the US Deepseek ban while blocking ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini at home
Maximilian Schreiner View the LinkedIn Profile of Maximilian Schreiner
Oct 21, 2026
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Key Points
- The US government has banned civilian federal agencies from using AI software from Chinese company Deepseek to keep sensitive data from flowing to Beijing.
- China criticized the decision and announced countermeasures, even though it blocks Western services like ChatGPT across the entire country.
- Beijing's protest works mainly as a political signal and lays the groundwork for future retaliation in the tech rivalry between the two countries.
#DeepSeek#US Department of Homeland Security#Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs#Chinese Ministry of Commerce#Cyberspace Administration of China#ChatGPT#Claude#Gemini