Washington bans government agencies from using Chinese "deepseeks".

Listen to the article. The audio text is automated, generated by an automated system

The US government on Monday ordered its agencies to stop using artificial intelligence tools from the Chinese startup DeepSec, in light of the intense competition between the two countries for dominance in this rapidly developing sector.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Homeland Security announced the ban on products developed by “Deep Sec” and tools created by third parties using this Chinese technology, stressing the need to remove them from technical devices.

“Deep Sec models have multiple vulnerabilities,” a document attached to Monday’s statement said.

The department warned that the use of DeepSec's artificial intelligence tools "may lead to the transfer of sensitive data to China if used by US government employees or suppliers."

It also noted that the company's servers are located in China, where the legal system gives the government "broad power" to access private companies' infrastructure.

DeepSec, one of China's leading AI laboratories, revolutionized the field in January 2025 with the launch of a high-performance, low-cost chatbot, overcoming assumptions of US dominance.

Last April, the company released its long-awaited new “V4” model, and this month it updated it by launching a faster and lighter version.

The United States accused Deep Sec and other leading Chinese artificial intelligence companies of systematically stealing the capabilities of advanced models developed by competing American companies. Despite the 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 issue is expected to be raised again during the summit of leaders of the two countries next month in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

While the US Department of Defense did not respond to Agence France-Presse’s request for comment, the agency contacted Deep Sec for comment.