Our Editors Love These Routers, So Why Does the US Want to Ban Them?

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The US is moving closer to halting the sale of TP-Link routers in the country, with several agencies—including the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Defense—backing the Commerce Department's proposed ban on the company's products, The Washington Post reports.

The move clears the way for the Commerce Department to initiate the ban process, during which it must first notify TP-Link, which will then have 30 days to respond. After that, the agency has 30 more days to consider the company’s objections before making the ban official.

Commerce has also concluded that nothing short of a ban against TP-Link will suffice, citing the company’s ties to China as a national security threat, according to the Post, which spoke with unnamed sources briefed on the matter.

It’s unclear why the agency hasn’t moved further on the proposed ban. But it’s likely because the Trump administration has been holding trade talks with China, which resulted in a temporary economic truce last week.

At least since last year, US officials and lawmakers have alleged that TP-Link poses a potential spying and hacking risk, partly because the company was founded in China and continues to maintain a headquarters there. A key concern is that the Chinese government could secretly compel TP-Link to assist in spying on or infiltrating American communications or companies.

No direct evidence of such spying has ever been found or disclosed, which is why PCMag continues to recommend certain TP-Link products. Still, US officials argue that TP-Link's routers are insecure, which could enable hackers to easily compromise them and attack US networks.

However, TP-Link has dismissed the security concerns as unfounded and based on misinformation. Its US router sales occur through TP-Link Systems in Irvine, California, which spun off from its Chinese counterpart in 2022.

"As a US company, no foreign country or government—including China—has access to or control over the design and production of our products," TP-Link Systems told PCMag in May after a group of Republican lawmakers urged the Trump administration to enact a ban.

"To be clear, TP-Link is not a state-sponsored company, has no 'deep ties' to, and is completely independent from, the Chinese Communist Party," TP-Link added. "The allegation that bad actors from China used our routers for cyberattacks is misleading and disingenuous—routers made by many companies have been targets of attacks."

A similar battle is playing out in the US over the TikTok app.