US conducting criminal antitrust investigation into TP-Link, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) - U.S. authorities are conducting a criminal antitrust investigation into pricing strategies by router maker TP-Link Systems Inc and the national security risks associated with its growing market share, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

 

Prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice are investigating whether TP-Link, a California-based firm, engaged in predatory pricing and whether that could hurt the ability of other companies that do not pose national security risks to sell routers in the U.S., the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

 

The DOJ and TP-Link did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

 

There have been widespread concerns in the past that Beijing could exploit Chinese-origin routers and other equipment in cyber attacks on American governments and businesses.  

 

U.S. lawmakers have previously urged for probes into the router maker and also called on Americans to remove Chinese-made wireless routers from their homes.

 

In December 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. authorities had launched probes into China’s TP-Link and were considering a ban on the sale of its routers over national security concerns.

 

The WSJ had then said that TP-Link has roughly 65% of the U.S. market for routers for homes and small businesses. 

 

However, TP-Link Systems says on its website that it has split from and no longer has any affiliation with the Chinese TP-Link Technologies Co. The process for the split began in 2022 and was completed in October last year, according to the website.

 

 (Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Alan Barona)