TP-Link Faces Four State Lawsuits and FCC Router Ban in US

States Sue TP-Link Over China Ties and Router Security

Florida and three other US states filed lawsuits against TP-Link this week, alleging the router maker lied to consumers about its connections to China and the risks of its devices being exploited by Chinese state hackers. The suits, filed by Florida, Montana, Iowa and Nebraska, claim TP-Link committed unfair and deceptive trade acts in violation of state consumer protection laws.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said "Chinese state-sponsored hackers exploited TP-Link routers sitting in American living rooms" and that the state is seeking an injunction, restitution for Florida consumers and financial penalties under Florida law.

TP-Link Rejects the Allegations

TP-Link, which was founded in China but moved its headquarters to California in October 2024, called the coordinated lawsuits "built on false premises." Corporate affairs officer Steve Kovsky said the suits "do nothing to advance national security while unfairly penalizing an industry-leading US company." The company said it has provided state regulators with documentation showing its devices sold in the US are manufactured in Vietnam and that it is an independent US company not owned or controlled by any foreign government.

Uthmeier dismissed that defense as "fiction," saying research and manufacturing remain rooted in China. The Florida lawsuit cites an April 2025 Bloomberg report in which TP-Link confirmed that aside from components bought in Vietnam accounting for 0.5 percent of the total value of inputs to the plant there, all other components are imported from China. The lawsuits also note US government statements about Russian intelligence agency GRU exploiting vulnerabilities in TP-Link routers and TP-Link's reported use of a Chinese construction contractor to expand the Vietnam plant.

FCC Router Ban Still in Effect

The lawsuits come about six months after the Federal Communications Commission announced a ban on consumer-grade routers produced wholly or partly outside the US. Makers including Netgear, Asus, Adtran, Amazon and its Eero subsidiary, Calix, Nokia and SpaceX's Starlink division have received exemptions, but TP-Link has not. The company is currently unable to sell its latest Wi-Fi 8 routers in the US, though models approved before the ban remain available.

In April, TP-Link met with officials in FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office and told them it is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to bring manufacturing and research and development of consumer routers to the US, and that it already employs over 550 people in the country, including hundreds of engineers at its California headquarters. The FCC process requires a determination from the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security that devices pose no national security risk, along with a time-bound plan to establish or expand US manufacturing. TP-Link said its existing products remain available for sale and that new products are going through the FCC's standard approval process.

Sources: Ars Technica · The Register · Tom'S Hardware · Techmeme