TP-Link Systems Inc. Sets the Record Straight Regarding Inaccurate Testimony at House Select Committee on the CCP Hearing

IRVINE, CA—March 5, 2025—TP-Link Systems Inc. (TP-Link), a U.S. company providing networking and smart home solutions, issued the following statement regarding inaccurate testimony delivered earlier today at the Select Committee’s hearing.

Jeff Barney, President of TP-Link Systems Inc., said, “Witnesses at the hearing didn’t present a shred of evidence that TP-Link is linked to the Chinese government and we are not. Even the testimony demonstrated that there were ‘various brands exploited by Chinese state-sponsored hackers in the massive Volt, Flax and Salt Typhoon attacks.'”

Let the record be unequivocally clear: TP-Link is a U.S. company that is committed to the highest ethical standards, operates in full legal compliance, and implements robust cybersecurity practices. We are committed to cooperating with the U.S. government and industry on cybersecurity and no government has access to or control over the design and production of our routers.

TP-Link shares the same cybersecurity concerns as the industry in protecting networks from vulnerabilities. No manufacturer is immune to security risks and it is misleading to single out TP-Link when security vulnerabilities affect the entire industry. TP-Link security practices are fully in line with industry security standards in the United States. Contrary to claims of widespread vulnerabilities, comparative data provided by CISA places TP-Link on par with, or in some cases ahead of, other major industry players in terms of security outcomes.

Additionally, TP-Link’s U.S. market share continues to be grossly inflated in reports. Recent market research from Circana identifies TP-Link as holding a 36.5% unit share and a 30.7% dollar share of the US consumer router market during 2024, as well as a 35.5% unit share and a 27.0% dollar share of the US consumer market for networking devices.

TP-Link stands by its security practices, which exceed industry standards and are constantly evolving to address new threats and standards. There is no basis for banning TP-Link when we meet or exceed the same security standards as others. Any claims suggesting our products pose a unique risk to U.S. national security are baseless and without merit. We are fully confident in our long-term position in the U.S. market.”

 

TP-Link’s Response to Correct the Record on Hearing Witness Rob Joyce’s Statements

MYTH: Mr. Joyce suggested TP-Link is a Chinese company, complicit in PRC cyber operations and activities aimed at undercutting the U.S. market, raising significant national security concerns.

FACT:

• TP-Link products are not “Chinese-controlled technology”.
• TP-Link is headquartered in Irvine, California, and is the parent company for the global TP-Link business.
• All of TP-Link’s R&D operations globally are owned and controlled by TP-Link’s U.S. headquarters.
• No government – including the PRC – has access to and control over the design and production of TP-Link routers.
• TP-Link manufactures our routers in Vietnam in our own facility, while others in our segment continue to outsource manufacturing to Chinese original design manufacturers.
• TP-Link has prioritized the relocation and build-out of an information security team in which all core product and data security functions across TP-Link will be handled by U.S. persons within the United States, with clear accountability to U.S. leadership and oversight structures.
• TP-Link is not subject to the direction of the PRC intel apparatus and no evidence was presented to support this claim.
• TP-Link has split from and no longer has any affiliation with TP-LINK Technologies Co.,Ltd., which serves the mainland Chinese market (i.e., “TP-Link China”). Despite having similar names, these companies have entirely different ownership, management, and operations.

 

MYTH: Mr. Joyce stated, “TP-Link, the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial wifi and home routers has grown to at least 60 percent of the US retail market for wifi systems in SOHO routers, compared to about 10 percent of the market at the start of 2019. How have they achieved this miraculous growth? They appear to be selling at price points below profitability to drive out our western competition. As of August 2024, TP-Link captured nearly 80 percent of the US retail market for mesh systems, running on wifi 7, which is the newest wifi specification in existence.”

FACT:

• TP-Link’s share of the American market has been falsely inflated and wrongly reported. Industry data shows we are not the majority provider of routers in the United States. TP-Link Systems sells products at multiple price points to be competitive in the marketplace. Our market share has grown as American consumers increasingly recognize the value of and choose to purchase our products.
  • TP-Link’s market share in the US has been inaccurately reported as being much higher than it actually is. Recent market research from Circana identifies TP-Link as holding a 36.5% unit share and a 30.7% dollar share of the US consumer router market during 2024, as well as a 35.5% unit share and a 27.0% dollar share of the US consumer market for networking devices.
  • The above data does not account for routers provided to consumers directly from their internet service providers (ISPs). ISP-provided routers account for a significant part of the home router market. TP-Link Systems is a provider to some ISPs, but its share of the ISP-provided routers markets is much smaller than its share of the direct-to-consumer market and is nationally insignificant.
  • TP-Link does not sell products at below cost. We own our own manufacturing and R&D operations, which allows us to realize cost savings relative to competitors that rely on third parties for these functions. Our vertically integrated supply chain also gives us better control over the security of each stage of the product development process.

 

MYTH: Mr. Joyce stated, “TP-Link routers were among the various brands exploited by Chinese state-sponsored hackers in the massive Volt, Flax and Salt Typhoon attacks. Imagine these routers in the homes and businesses across America as a PRC platform to launch society-panicking cyber attacks during the invasion of Taiwan.”

FACT:

• According to publicly available information, Chinese threat actor campaigns, including Volt Typhoon, Salt Typhoon, and Flax Typhoon, have no discernible preference for using TP-Link routers as a vector. These actors have targeted a wide range of routers, from several different manufacturers, where the device owners have failed to update their software and left known, publicly reported vulnerabilities available for these actors to exploit.
• Publicly available information regarding other significant players on the U.S. networking equipment market shows that they have comparable footprints in China.
• The supply chain of the entire wireless device industry has similar levels of exposure to China, and the industry and consumers will benefit from clear and evenly applied standards.
• TP-Link carefully controls its supply chains, implements rigorous secure product development and testing processes, and takes timely and appropriate action to mitigate any vulnerabilities we become aware of. TP-Link is constantly assessing potential risks to its U.S. operations, customers, and supply chain.
• TP-Link supports efforts to increase product security and user data protections across the networking and connected device ecosystems, specifically including Cyber Trust Mark. These efforts to standardize security controls, increase transparency, and provide objective security visibility to American consumers will raise the bar for the entire industry, reducing the risk of future widespread foreign intrusions.

 

TP-Link’s Response to Correct the Record on Hearing Witness Laura Galante’s Statements Regarding TP-Link

MYTH: Ms. Galante stated, “I think the discussion around TP-Link, the Chinese-owned manufacturer and creator of a dominant portion of the router market is one of those key measures.”

FACT:

• TP-Link is headquartered in Irvine, California, and is the parent company for the global TP-Link business.
• TP-Link has split from and no longer has any affiliation with TP-Link China. No government – including the PRC – has access to and control over the design and production of TP-Link routers.

 

MYTH: Ms. Galante stated, “Identifying where there are products that Americans have in their own home networks or their businesses, and being able to say those technologies need to be ripped and replaced. We saw something similar with Kaspersky Labs, the Department of Commerce last year issued that rip and replace or banned Kaspersky products from being used in the American commercial sector. We need the same sorts of activities happening for TP-Link and for other home use and commercial grade technologies where China has an upper hand.”

FACT:

• This is a false comparison: Kaspersky Lab is a Russian-owned and -headquartered entity, while TP-Link is headquartered in the United States.
• All of TP-Link’s R&D operations globally are owned and controlled by TP-Link’s U.S. headquarters.
• TP-Link manufactures our routers in Vietnam in our own facility, while others in our segment continue to outsource manufacturing to Chinese original design manufacturers.