TP-Link is reeling from a series of legal challenges in the United States, with Florida and three other states filing lawsuits alleging that the company misled consumers about the security of its routers and its ties to the Chinese government.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has banned consumer-grade routers wholly or partly manufactured outside the US, with exemptions granted to numerous manufacturers, including Netgear, Asus, and SpaceX’s Starlink division. However, TP-Link has yet to secure an exemption, leaving it unable to sell its latest Wi-Fi 8 routers in the US.

The lawsuits, filed by Florida, Montana, Iowa, and Nebraska, claim that TP-Link engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices by falsely assuring consumers of the safety of its products. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier stated, “Chinese state-sponsored hackers exploited TP-Link routers sitting in American living rooms.”

TP-Link’s corporate affairs officer, Steve Kovsky, has criticized the coordinated lawsuits, arguing that they unfairly target a company that is an independent US entity unconnected to any foreign government. TP-Link has provided documentation to state regulators to support its claims about the manufacturing and ownership of its US-based operations.