TP-Link routers may soon shut down in the US. There's a chance of potential ban as various federal agencies have backed the proposal.
Alleged links with China
The news first came in December last year. According to the WSJ, officials at the Departments of Justice, Commerce, and Defense had launched investigations into the company due to national security threats from China.
Currently, the proposal has gotten interagency approval. According to the Washington Post, "Commerce officials concluded TP-Link Systems products pose a risk because the US-based company's products handle sensitive American data and because the officials believe it remains subject to jurisdiction or influence by the Chinese government."
But TP-Link's connections to the Chinese government are not confirmed. The company has denied of any ties with being a Chinese company.
About TP-Link routers
The company was founded in China in 1996. After the October 2024 investigation, the company split into two: TP-Link Systems and TP-Link Technologies. "TP-Link's unusual degree of vulnerabilities and required compliance with [Chinese] law are in and of themselves disconcerting. When combined with the [Chinese] government's common use of [home office] routers like TP-Link to perpetrate extensive cyberattacks in the United States, it becomes significantly alarming" the officials wrote in October 2024.
The company dominated the US router market since the COVID pandemic. It rose from 20% of total router sales to 65% between 2019 and 2025.
Why the investigation?
The US DoJ is investigating if TP-Link was involved in predatory pricing by artificially lowering its prices to kill the competition.
The potential ban is due to an interagency review and is being handled by the Department of Commerce. Experts say that the ban may be lifted in future due to Trump administration's ongoing negotiations with China.
