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House lawmakers proposed a broad ban on DeepSeek use by executive agencies in February 2025, but that proposal is not the same as the restriction Congress later enacted. Section 6604 of Public Law 119-60 requires standards for removing DeepSeek and successor services from intelligence-community national security systems, with exceptions for national-security and research activities. Its text does not impose the same restriction on every federal agency.
What is the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act?
H.R. 1121, the No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act, was introduced in the House on February 7, 2025, by Representative Josh Gottheimer, with Representative Darin LaHood among its cosponsors. Its full title described a bill “to prohibit the use of DeepSeek by the executive agencies, and for other purposes.” It was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; introduction did not make it law. Congress.gov’s bill record tracks its status.
Gottheimer and LaHood had announced the bipartisan proposal the day before. A Senate companion, S. 765, was introduced by Senator Jacky Rosen on February 27, 2025, with Senators Jon Husted and Pete Ricketts as cosponsors, and referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Its Senate bill record provides the legislative history.
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Congress later enacted a DeepSeek-specific restriction, but it is narrower than the executive-agency scope described in H.R. 1121’s title. Section 6604 of the FY2026 Intelligence Authorization Act, included in Public Law 119-60 dated December 18, 2025, directs the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), consulting with other intelligence-community heads, to develop standards and guidelines requiring covered applications to be removed from intelligence-community national security systems. Public Law 119-60 is the enacted text.
The two measures are distinct: H.R. 1121 was a proposal referred to committee, while section 6604 became law. The enacted provision does not, on its face, establish a blanket DeepSeek ban for every executive agency or every federal device.
| Policy instrument | Status | Scope described in the source | Exceptions and implementation |
|---|---|---|---|
| H.R. 1121 | Introduced in the House on February 7, 2025; referred to committee | Its full title describes prohibiting DeepSeek use by executive agencies. | Do not treat the proposal as enacted law; its bill text describes the proposal. |
| Public Law 119-60, section 6604 | Enacted December 18, 2025 | Requires standards for removal from intelligence-community national security systems, including those run by specified contractors and entities acting on an intelligence-community element’s behalf. | Requires national-security and research exceptions with risk mitigation; set a 60-day deadline for initial standards and guidelines. |
What does the enacted DeepSeek restriction cover?
Under section 6604, a “covered application” means the DeepSeek application or any successor application or service. The removal standards apply to national security systems operated by an intelligence-community element, its contractor, or another entity acting on its behalf. The law requires those standards to be consistent with federal information-security requirements.
This scope is tied to intelligence-community national security systems and their specified operators—not to all federal technology simply because it is government-owned or used by a government employee. The enacted text is the basis for that distinction.
Are there exceptions for research or national security?
Yes. Section 6604 requires the standards and guidelines to include exceptions for national-security purposes and research activities. It also requires risk-mitigation standards for cases in which an exception is used. These are exceptions that the DNI’s standards must provide for; they do not erase the underlying removal requirement.
What did lawmakers say motivated the 2025 proposal?
The sponsors framed H.R. 1121 as a response to national-security and data-security risks. In a February 6, 2025, press release, their offices cited concerns about DeepSeek code and possible data sharing with China Mobile. Gottheimer said: “The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans.” That is the congressman’s political characterization, not a finding in the enacted statute.
The Associated Press’ contemporaneous coverage likewise attributed concerns to the lawmakers and a security research firm. Those claims should not be mistaken for an independent technical audit established by the bill or the law.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about implementation?
Section 6604 required the DNI to develop initial standards and guidelines no later than 60 days after enactment. That statutory deadline is a requirement, not evidence that the standards were issued or that particular agencies completed implementation. The available statutory text establishes the required process and scope; it does not establish agency-by-agency compliance.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesPublic Law 119-60 also contains a separate AI-security provision. Section 6601 directs the National Security Agency to develop and publish AI-security guidance, including work on vulnerabilities, AI supply-chain or lifecycle components that adversaries could expose, and strategies to identify, protect, detect, respond to, and recover from nation-state cyber threats. That broader guidance is separate from the DeepSeek-specific removal standards in section 6604.
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