In a nutshell: TP-Link Systems, one of the most popular router brands in the United States, has become the subject of a criminal antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice. According to reports, the China-linked company's pricing strategies and potential national security risks will be examined by the DoJ and the Commerce Department. The affordability of TP-Link's routers is part of what makes them so popular. Prosecutors at the DoJ are examining whether the company engaged in predatory pricing to undercut competitors and dominate the US market, writes Bloomberg. The probe began in 2024 under President Biden and continues today under the Trump administration. TP-Link is also being investigated by the Commerce Department over whether its ties to China pose a security threat. It was reported in December that an office of the Commerce Department had subpoenaed TP-Link, and that its routers could be banned in the US over national security concerns. TP-Link was founded by brothers Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Jiaxing in 1996. In 2008, TP-Link USA was set up to market and service products in North America, but ownership, management and supply chain all still reported to the Shenzhen-based TP-Link parent. In 2024, TP-Link USA completed a merger with TP-Link's non-Chinese operations to form TP-Link Systems Inc., headquartered in Irvine, California. This "organisational separation" from the Chinese company ensures each side has its own shareholding structure, board, R&D, production, marketing and support teams. Regulators and lawmakers are still reviewing whether the structural split truly insulates TP-Link's US arm from Chinese legal jurisdiction – hence the current antitrust and national-security probes. // Related Stories TP-Link has around 65% of the US market for routers used in homes and small businesses. Twelve of the top twenty best-selling routers on Amazon are TP-Link models, including the number one (TP-Link AX1800 WiFi 6 Router V4) and number two (TP-Link Dual-Band AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Router Archer AX55) top sellers. In October 2024, Microsoft exposed a complex network of compromised devices that Chinese hackers used to launch highly evasive password spray attacks against Microsoft Azure customers. The network, dubbed CovertNetwork-1658, had been actively stealing credentials since August 2023. The attacks used a botnet of thousands of small office and home office (SOHO) routers, cameras, and other Internet-connected devices. At its peak, there were more than 16,000 devices in the botnet, most of which were TP-Link routers. There's a history of security flaws being discovered in TP-Link routers. A critical vulnerability with a CVSS score of 10.0 was found in the Archer C5400X tri-band router for gaming in May 2024, and in 2023, it was reported that Chinese state hackers were infecting TP-Link routers with custom, malicious firmware. The latter incident arrived soon after the US government said Mirai Botnet operators were using TP-Link routers for DDoS attacks.