Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating a tech company founded in Shenzhen, China, for potentially aiding the Chinese Communist government with Texans’ consumer data.
Paxton announced the investigation against TP-Link Systems, an office networking equipment manufacturer, on October 7. Federal officials have raised recent security concerns about the company’s systems, due to recent cyberattacks and ties to the Chinese government.
“If Big Tech is giving Chinese communists access to Americans’ data, there is no question that they’re using that data against us,” Paxton said in a press release. “I will not allow any company to sell us out to our greatest geopolitical enemy.”
TP-Link Systems was founded in Shenzhen, China, but established a recent offshoot with a new headquarters in Irvine, California. According to the company’s website, it separated from TP-LINK Technologies Co., Ltd., which continues to serve mainland China.
“Despite having similar names, these companies have entirely different ownership, management, and operations,” the company’s website reads. “As a company headquartered in the United States, no government – foreign or domestic – has access to and control over the design and production of our routers and other devices.”
But Paxton questioned TP-Link’s independence from its Chinese counterpart, its ownership structure, its production practices, and potential “ongoing connections” to the Chinese communist government.
His investigation will consider whether TP-Link misled consumers about its independence from China, if its technology contains worse security risks than its American competitors, and if its devices store or share data in violation of Texas privacy law.
The Department of Justice opened an antitrust investigation into TP-Link earlier this year, citing predatory pricing that could hurt American companies that don’t pose a national security risk, as Bloomberg reported. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in September the company’s systems had multiple security risks that were under attack.
Paxton cited concerns the Chinese government may have a backdoor to control TP-Link equipment and access consumers’ network traffic and run internet bot networks.
“If TP-Link is violating Texas law and jeopardizing Americans, my office will do everything in our power to hold them accountable,” he said.
The Department of War announced a new cybersecurity framework in September to respond to cyber threats in real time, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Gov. Greg Abbott also signed a law in June, forming the largest state cybersecurity department.