TP-Link tries to appease Trump admin with pledge to assemble routers in US

Router makers that received exemptions so far include Netgear, Asus, Adtran, Amazon and its Eero subsidiary, Calix, Nokia, SpaceX’s Starlink division, and others. TP-Link urged the Trump administration to ensure that its “reviewers fairly apply the same consistent review standards to TP-Link as have been applied to all other applicants.”

TP-Link’s 2024 move to the US came amid investigations into high-profile attacks linked to the Chinese government, including a botnet composed mostly of TP-Link routers. The Russian GRU also compromised TP-Link routers to steal information, US intelligence agencies said in April 2026.

TP-Link is far from the only router maker with security problems. For example, so-called AirSnitch attacks described in research this year were reported to work on routers made by Netgear, D-Link, Ubiquiti, Cisco, and those running DD-WRT and OpenWrt.

Republican AGs urge FCC to stand firm

TP-Link’s letter to the FCC last week said its application for an exemption provides “complete responses” to questions about its corporate structure and manufacturing and supply chain.

“TP-Link prioritizes the security of US consumer networking data; user data processed by TP-Link’s US products is encrypted and housed on Amazon Web Services infrastructure in Virginia,” the company said. “And of course, TP-Link does not, and will not, share customer network data with foreign governments or unauthorized third parties.”

TP-Link also faces opposition from Republican state attorneys general. The AGs from Florida, Montana, Iowa, and Nebraska sued TP-Link this month, alleging that it lied to consumers about its connections to China and the risks of its routers being exploited by Chinese state hackers.

A group of 21 Republican state AGs then sent a letter to the FCC questioning TP-Link’s claims regarding router security and the company’s independence from China. The letter urged the FCC to require remedies for “past and ongoing state-law violations” in its review of TP-Link’s application and to protect router users “from exploitation by the Chinese Communist Party.”