4 states sue tech company for deceiving millions of Americans about Chinese ties
The states of Nebraska, Montana, Iowa and Florida each individually sued TP-Link – a tech company that provides networking devices – accusing it of deceiving consumers about its ties to China, thereby putting millions of Americans’ privacy at risk and endangering national security.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird told The Center Square: “TP-link tells Iowans its routers are safe, our personal data is secure, and that they have no ties to China.
“They are not telling the truth,” Bird said. “It’s time to hold China and China-backed companies accountable.
“Iowans’ sensitive data and our national security is at risk because of TP-link and their connection to the communist Chinese government,” Bird said.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told The Center Square that “a router is the digital front door to a Florida family’s home.”
Indeed, according to the four states’ lawsuits, a router serves as “a consumer’s virtual mouth and ears to the internet” and, if compromised, the router can impersonate the consumer and create “a foothold in the consumer’s own home for state-sponsored cyberattacks.”
Additionally, based off congressional testimony, the lawsuits state that TP-Link “controls at least 60 percent of the United States retail market for Wi-Fi systems and small-office/home-office routers.”
Uthmeier stated that TP-Link told consumers its routers were secure and that U.S. products are built in Vietnam, but such claims “are not true.”
“Chinese state-sponsored hackers exploited TP-Link routers sitting in American living rooms, and research and manufacturing remain rooted in China,” Uthmeier said.
“Floridians deserve the truth about the products they bring into their homes,” Uthmeier said. “We will not allow families to be misled into handing their personal data to the Chinese Communist Party.”
Like Bird and Uthmeier, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers told The Center Square that TP-Link misled consumers with claims that its routers were safe and secure and had severed its Chinese connections, when “in truth” the company’s supply chain “continues to be intertwined with China’s state-sponsored technology ecosystem.”
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told The Center Square that “TP-Link’s false statements and deceptive advertising are a violation of Montana law.”
“As a result of their nefarious practices, millions of Americans have unknowingly invited a foreign adversary into their living rooms and put their personal information at risk,” Knudsen said.
Knudsen stated: “I will do everything I can as Attorney General to hold TP-Link accountable and protect our privacy and security.”
When reached for comment, TP-Link media relations referred The Center Square to a press release with a statement.
“TP-Link Systems devices sold in the U.S. are manufactured in Vietnam and TP-Link Systems is an independent, U.S. company that is not owned or controlled by any foreign government,” the statement said, adding that it “complies with U.S. privacy and data protection laws.”
According to the states’ lawsuits, TP-Link was not a separate company from “its Chinese operations until 2024” and the company “minimizes the risks to consumers from its longstanding and ongoing connections to China.”
As a point of interest, foreign-made consumer routers were added to the FCC’s covered list in March 2026 and prohibited approval of new models.
Sunny
