Lawmakers Urge Commerce Department to Probe Chinese Tech Company Over Security Concerns

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Nov 16, 2025 - 10:51 Updated: Nov 16, 2025 - 00:41
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Lawmakers Urge Commerce Department to Probe Chinese Tech Company Over Security Concerns

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A bipartisan group of 23 lawmakers is urging Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to investigate networking equipment made by TP-Link Technologies and its affiliates, warning that their devices, particularly security cameras, could potentially become tools for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to spy on the U.S. military.

The lawmakers—led by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa)—sent a letter dated Nov. 13 to Lutnick, saying that the investigation is necessary because “open-source information indicates that TP-Link represents a serious and present danger” to the security of the U.S. information communication technology services.
“China is looking for any way to infiltrate and undermine the United States,” Ernst wrote in an X post on Nov. 13.

“I am calling on the Trump [administration] to investigate and determine if TP-Link is a [Trojan] horse for the CCP to spy on the American people and our military bases.”

TP-Link products “are currently sold through” the Army and Air Force Exchange and the Navy Exchange, the lawmakers wrote, thus “placing these devices in proximity to U.S. military installations and personnel on American soil and abroad.”

These exchanges, maintained by the Department of War, are for military members, their families, and retirees, and provide “military installations with goods and services similar to department stores,” according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. The Army and Air Force Exchange “operates more than 5,500 facilities with operations in more than 30 countries and four U.S. territories,” the report stated.
The Navy Exchange has more than 300 stores around the world, and stores aboard more than 100 ships, according to its website.
The exchanges also sell goods online, currently including TP-Link products.

“Right now, nothing stops CCP-tied companies from spying on Americans through internet-connected cameras in our homes,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

“The Chinese Communist Party can capture and exploit these videos to track, blackmail, or extort U.S. citizens—including top government and military officials.”

In China, laws such as the National Intelligence Law of 2017 and the 2021 Data Security Law authorize the Chinese regime to harvest data from China-based commercial entities, posing privacy risks for American companies and customers who use their products and apps.
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Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.) said he cosigned the letter to make sure “nothing sold on our bases can be used to track or spy on American troops,” according to his X post.
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“China’s intelligence laws force companies like TP-Link to hand over data, so letting their cameras and routers onto military exchanges risks giving the CCP a window straight into the lives of our service members,” Harrigan said.

TP-Link Responds

TP-Link is best known for its Wi-Fi routers, but it also offers a range of other products, including smart cameras, smart plugs, smart switches, and smart light bulbs. Some of its products are sold under the Kasa and Tapo brands.

California-based TP-Link Systems and China-based TP-Link Technologies separated in 2024.

The Epoch Times reached out to both companies for comment, but didn’t receive a response from TP-Link Technologies by publication time.

In response to an email inquiry from The Epoch Times, a spokesperson for TP-Link Systems dismissed concerns raised by the lawmakers, saying that their letter “repeats false and misleading media reports and attacks that have been thoroughly debunked.”

“TP-Link emphatically objects to any allegation it is tied to the Communist Party of China, dependent on the Chinese government, or otherwise subject to interference under Chinese national security laws,” the spokesperson stated.

The spokesperson added that U.S. user data is “securely stored on Amazon Web Services infrastructure in Virginia.”

“TP-Link does not enable foreign surveillance of U.S. networks or users,” the spokesperson said. “The company’s operations are built to prevent potential attempts to subvert its business by outside influence.”

Other cosignees of the letter included Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Margaret Hassan (D-N.H.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), as well as Reps. Don Davis (D-N.C.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), August Pfluger (R-Texas), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), and Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), among others.

The lawmakers requested that the Commerce Department provide the results of its investigation to them before Nov. 30.

If TP-Link’s products were found to “present a national security threat” following the investigation, the lawmakers said the Commerce Department should exercise its authorities to “mitigate the danger promptly.”

In October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that his office had launched an investigation into TP-Link Systems over similar concerns.
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In May, a bicameral group of 17 Republican lawmakers wrote to Lutnick, urging him to ban the sales of networking equipment from TP-Link, saying that the company has “deep ties” to the CCP. The letter was led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.).
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