Florida AG Subpoenas TP-Link Over China Concerns
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) issued a subpoena to California Wi-Fi router maker TP-Link Systems as part of a consumer protection investigation of the company’s relationship with China and handling of consumer data, said a release Tuesday.
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"If a company is going to make claims about their cybersecurity or foreign relationship practices, then they had better be accurate,” Uthmeier said in the release. “We will not allow Floridians to be misled into handing their personal data to the Chinese Communist Party."
The U.S. Department of Commerce has proposed a ban on TP-Link related to concerns that it's subject to the Chinese government and handles sensitive data. Texas AG Ken Paxton (R) opened an investigation of the networking company in October (see 2510060036).
Florida's subpoena requires TP-Link to turn over documents detailing its corporate structure, product development practices and the handling of consumer data, as well as “evidence supporting its claims about product security,” the release said. “If TP-Link Systems is found to expose Floridians to cybersecurity threats or to mislead its customers about foreign government access, it will be in direct violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.”
TP-Link didn’t comment by our deadline.