Five US States Now Suing TP-Link Over Router Security Claims and China Links

Florida, Iowa, Montana and Nebraska sued TP-Link Systems on October 6, joining Texas, which filed in February. The states allege the California-based company misled buyers about how secure its routers are and how separate it is from China. TP-Link denies the claims and says it will fight them in court. The suits were filed in state courts under consumer-protection laws. A day later, 21 state attorneys general wrote to the Federal Communications Commission about TP-Link's effort to win approval for new router models in the U.S.

The Florida, Montana and Nebraska complaints share the same main claims. They say TP-Link advertised security it did not deliver, quoting its HomeShield page as saying it "covers all security scenarios". They point to hacked routers and to models that no longer get fixes, such as two versions of the Archer AX21, which TP-Link says reached end of life in May 2024. They also say the company overstated its split from its former Chinese affiliate. Those complaints do not allege that the Chinese government has obtained customer data through TP-Link; they describe it as a risk under Chinese law. Iowa's announcement is worded more strongly, though it also describes government access as something that could happen.

Three complaints also cite five flaws in TP-Link devices that internet service providers supply to customers. Researchers published technical details on October 8. Fixes exist and reach users through their ISP.