Lawmakers Urge Commerce Department to Probe Chinese Tech Company Over Security Concerns

A hostess waits for visitors at the TP-Link stand at the IFA 2020 Special Edition consumer electronics and appliances trade fair on the fair’s opening day in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 3, 2020. Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesA bipartisan group of 23 lawmakers is urging Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to investigate networking equipment made by TP-Link Technologies and its affiliates, warning that their devices, particularly security cameras, could potentially become tools for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to spy on the U.S. military.The lawmakers—led by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa)—sent a letter dated Nov. 13 to Lutnick, saying that the investigation is necessary because “open-source information indicates that TP-Link represents a serious and present danger” to the security of the U.S. information communication technology services.