The U.S. Department of Homeland Security ordered the removal of the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) model DeepSeek and third-party services using it from the IT systems of federal civilian agencies.

A notice released on Oct. 19 said DHS also banned new procurement of DeepSeek products and third-party services developed using DeepSeek.

DHS said the DeepSeek model has "multiple threat pathways". It raised concerns that if U.S. government employees or contractors use the service, "sensitive data could be transferred to China". It also said using DeepSeek could generate "information that could be used for real-world actions related to Americans and government agencies". DHS added that the model itself could include malware or other security vulnerabilities.

To address potential risks from using DeepSeek, DHS told federal agencies to review traffic flows into and out of government websites. The guidance was contained in a memo written in July and the document was released on Oct. 19.

Restrictions on DeepSeek use in the United States are not new. Some federal agencies, including the Commerce Department and the Navy, previously banned DeepSeek use on government devices. Several state governments, including New York, Tennessee and Virginia, took similar steps. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.

The move extends technology restrictions on China pursued by the Donald Trump administration. The Federal Communications Commission plans to vote on Oct. 29 on an item that would bar Chinese laboratories from conducting tests needed for the use of electronic devices in the United States, including smartphones, cameras and computers. Last year, 82 percent of U.S. electronic devices were tested in China.

After banning imports of new Chinese-made drone models in December last year, the FCC also banned imports of new models of Chinese-made consumer routers. Routers are devices that connect computers, mobile phones and smart devices to the internet. In July this year, it voted to ban the sale in the United States of devices containing core hardware from Chinese companies designated as national security risks. It also proposed a plan to ban interconnection between Chinese carriers classified as national security risks and U.S. telecommunications companies.