Washington, D.C. [US], November 17 (ANI): A bipartisan group of 23 lawmakers has urged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to open an investigation into networking devices manufactured by TP-Link Technologies and its subsidiaries. They warn that the company’s products, including security cameras, could be exploited by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for surveillance of the US military, according to The Epoch Times (TET).
The effort is led by Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Representative Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), who submitted a letter to Lutnick on November 13. They argued that “open-source information indicates that TP-Link poses a significant and immediate threat” to the security of US information and communication technology services.
Ernst, in a post on X on November 13, as reported by TET, warned, “China is seeking any opportunity to penetrate and destabilize the United States.”
“I am urging the Trump administration to examine whether TP-Link is a Trojan horse for the CCP to surveil the American public and our military installations,” she added.
The lawmakers noted that TP-Link products are currently sold through the Army and Air Force Exchange and the Navy Exchange, placing these devices in close proximity to US military bases and personnel both in the United States and abroad.
These exchanges, operated by the Department of Defense, serve military personnel, their families, and retirees, providing “military installations with products and services akin to retail outlets,” according to a Congressional Research Service report. The Army and Air Force Exchange “manages over 5,500 facilities across more than 30 countries and four US territories,” the report stated, as cited by TET.
“At present, there is nothing preventing companies affiliated with the CCP from spying on Americans via internet-connected cameras within their homes,” the lawmakers wrote. “The Chinese Communist Party may seize and misuse these videos to monitor, blackmail, or extort US citizens, including high-ranking government and military officials.”
In China, laws such as the National Intelligence Law of 2017 and the Data Security Law of 2021 require Chinese companies to provide data to the government, raising significant privacy concerns for US consumers and businesses using their products.
Representative Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.) said he signed the letter to ensure “that no products sold on US bases can be utilized to track or surveil American personnel,” according to his post on X, as reported by TET. “China’s intelligence regulations mandate that companies like TP-Link surrender their data, so allowing their cameras and routers to be sold at military exchanges poses the risk of providing the CCP direct access to the private lives of our service members,” Harrigan added, according to the TET report.
About The Author
