As it continues trying to dig itself out of a ban on the sale of its routers in the U.S., TP-Link’s legal woes just keep getting worse. This week, four states—Iowa, Florida, Montana, and Nebraska—all filed similar lawsuits against the router-maker, alleging it’s misleading customers about how entangled its business is with China.
The lawsuits essentially state that TP-Link isn’t being entirely truthful about how safe its routers are for consumer use, engaging in deceptive trade acts that go against the states’ consumer protection laws, as reported by Ars Technica. Back in March, the FCC banned the sale of pretty much all routers produced outside of the U.S. Asus, Adtran, Netgear, Amazon, Calix, Nokia, and Starlink have all received exemptions from this ban.
The crux of the problem is this: TP-Link says it’s moved all of its operations out of China, but regulators seem to think this isn’t exactly true. TP-Link moved its U.S. operations to California back in 2024, and it claims all components of its U.S.-sold routers are now manufactured in Vietnam. The company has also repeatedly stated it never shares customer data with foreign governments.
S. government has, in the past, stated that Russian intelligence exploited TP-Link vulnerabilities, and Nebraska’s suit specifically mentions TP-Link’s alleged ongoing ties to a Chinese military contractor.
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