Congress warns China could spy on US military at home through CCP-linked smart devices
Several US military exchanges sell TP-Link products. mynavyexchange.com
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are warning of potential national security risks from Chinese-linked smart home products quietly sold through Army, Air Force, and Navy exchanges — the military’s online and physical stores.
A bipartisan group of 23 lawmakers is urging the Trump administration to investigate TP-Link Technologies Co. and its affiliates, and to consider banning their products across the U.S.
“Open-source information indicates that TP-Link represents a serious and present danger to U.S. information and communications technology security,” the lawmakers, led by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), wrote in a Thursday letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They warned that “nothing stops CCP-tied companies from spying on Americans through internet-connected cameras in our homes,” and that the Chinese Communist Party could exploit such footage to track, blackmail, or extort U.S. citizens, including senior government and military officials.
While TP-Link cameras are currently out of stock on military exchange websites, lawmakers said the products remain popular with U.S. consumers. Military exchanges are generally limited to active-duty personnel, military families, students at military schools, Department of War employees, and veterans.
“China will use any way to infiltrate us, and we must ensure they cannot access our homeland or military bases,” Ernst told The Post. “We’ve seen this playbook with Huawei Technologies, and the Trump administration must determine whether TP-Link is a trojan horse compromising our national security.”
TP-Link, headquartered in Shenzhen with a smaller U.S. office in Irvine, California, sells routers, smart cameras, baby monitors, smart plugs, and other devices. Chinese laws, including the 2017 National Intelligence Law, require organizations to cooperate with state intelligence efforts, raising concerns that products could contain exploitable backdoors, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Concerns over TP-Link are not new. Last year, leaders of the House Select China Committee urged the Commerce Department to investigate the company. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), who co-signed the letter, said, “This is yet another backdoor for the CCP to track or exploit Americans — and closing it should be a no-brainer in an era dominated by cyberwarfare.”
Despite the concerns, TP-Link products continue to be sold on U.S. military exchanges and by major retailers like Walmart and Amazon. A TP-Link spokesperson told The Post the company controls only about 3% of the U.S. security camera market and maintains core security functions and data infrastructure in the U.S., using Amazon Web Services in Virginia.
“TP-Link products do not present national security risks to the United States,” the spokesperson said. “Neither the Chinese government nor the CCP exercises any ownership or control over TP-Link, its products, or its user data. Our operations are built to prevent potential outside interference.”
The bipartisan group has set a Nov. 30 deadline for the Commerce Department to complete an assessment of TP-Link’s national security risks and regulatory compliance.
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