Al Arabiya Net _ The U.S. government ordered its agencies on Monday to cease using artificial intelligence tools from the Chinese startup China's DeepSeek, amid intense competition between the two countries for dominance in this rapidly evolving sector.
A statement issued by the Department of Homeland Security announced a ban on products developed by "DeepSeek", as well as tools created by third parties utilizing this Chinese technology, emphasizing the necessity of removing them from technical devices.
The Department is authorized to issue directives to civilian agencies, but not to the military or intelligence agencies. The U.S. Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment from Agence France-Presse.
A document attached to Monday's statement read, "Chinese application models carry multiple vulnerabilities."
Department of Homeland Security Warns: May Lead to the Transfer of Sensitive Data to China
The Department warned that using DeepSeek's artificial intelligence tools "could lead to the transfer of sensitive data to China if used by U.S. government employees or its suppliers."
The Department noted that the company's servers are located in China, where the legal system grants the government "broad authority" to access the infrastructure of private companies.
Agence France-Presse reached out to "DeepSeek" for comment.
The Chinese company, one of China's prominent artificial intelligence laboratories, revolutionized the field in January 2025 by launching a high-performance, low-cost chatbot, thereby challenging assumptions of U.S. dominance.
Last April, the company released its long-awaited new model "V4", and this month updated it by launching a faster and lighter version.
The United States Accuses the Chinese Company of Stealing Advanced Models Developed by U.S. Companies
The United States has accused DeepSeek and other leading Chinese artificial intelligence companies of systematically stealing the capabilities of advanced models developed by competing U.S. firms.
Despite intense competition between them in this field, China and the United States agreed last September to establish a "communication channel" for artificial intelligence incidents.
This topic is expected to be raised again during the leaders' summit of the two countries next month in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
