Texas attorney general sues TP-Link for exposing users to cyber risk, deceptive business practices
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday announced he will file a series of lawsuits against Chinese companies, starting with one he’s already filed against TP-Link Systems Inc., the American arm of the networking equipment maker, headquartered in Irvine, California.
Paxton, a Republican, alleges in his suit that TP-Link allowed the People’s Republic of China access to Americans’ devices, while sneakily attempting to disguise the equipment’s origin by affixing stickers reading “Made in Vietnam,” the country where they’re assembled.
“TP-Link has created a web of deception that includes shared manufacturing, research, and Chinese state-sponsored benefits, with the company’s leadership acknowledging accolades and subsidies from the Chinese government,” the suit reads. “By masking its Chinese connections, TP-Link has exposed millions of consumers to severe cybersecurity risks, including firmware vulnerabilities exploited by Chinese hacking groups.”
In his suit, Paxton points to the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which lists the many ways in which companies are prohibited from misrepresenting their products, including “causing confusion or misunderstanding as to the source … of goods or services.” Paxton warns that “TP-Link devices are currently for sale at major retailers throughout the State of Texas, hiding vulnerabilities behind misrepresentations of its affiliation and protection. Meanwhile, other TP-Link devices are already connected inside of Texas homes and businesses, lying in wait.”
Several federal agencies last year opened investigations into TP-Link over concerns about its potential connection to cyberattacks. The company claims about two-thirds of the U.S. home and small business router market. A bipartisan group of lawmakers in 2024 called for a closer examination of the company, citing a “concerning” and “unusual degree of vulnerabilities and required compliance with [Chinese] law.”
TP-Link Systems has repeatedly disputed allegations that its equipment poses national security threats.
For its part, the Texas government has already prohibited state agencies from using or purchasing TP-Link devices. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last year expanded the state’s roster of no-go companies, a list that also includes the Chinese online retailer Alibaba, the Chinese fast-fashion platform Shein and the Chinese social media platform TikTok. Texas also last year created a “hostile foreign adversaries unit” in the state’s Department of Public Safety, intended to address malign foreign influence campaigns, particularly those originating in China.
Paxton said in press materials that his lawsuits, part of a “coordinated series of actions” that includes an investigation into TP-Link that his office launched last October, are to “send a clear message that in the Lone Star State we will always put Texas and America First. TP Link will face the full force of the law for putting Americans’ security at risk. Let this serve as a clear warning to any Chinese entity seeking to compromise our nation’s security.”
