Predatory pricing, security threat? – US investigations against TP-Link

The US Department of Justice has launched a criminal antitrust investigation into router manufacturer TP-Link and wants to find out whether the US company with links to China has deliberately undercut the competition with predatory pricing and poses a threat to national security. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The US government has not commented on the report. According to the report, the investigations were initiated at the end of 2024 under then US President Joe Biden, but continued under Donald Trump.

Exact market share unclear

TP-Link routers are among the most widely used in the USA. However, the manufacturer itself states on its website that its market share is around one third. False reports would assume much more. According to Bloomberg, the US Department of Justice is now investigating whether TP-Link deliberately undercut the competition with predatory pricing in order to secure market share and raise prices when other manufacturers were forced out of the market. The US financial news agency also points out that the use of such predatory pricing is particularly difficult to prove, which is why it is not normally attempted in the context of criminal law, where the burden of proof is higher.

The second focus of the investigation is therefore on the question of whether TP-Link poses a threat to national security. Following a split of the group into a US and a Chinese part, the California-based part still does a substantial part of its business in China. Bloomberg points out that TP-Link devices have been among those compromised in massive cyberattacks from China. However, there is no evidence that TP-Link was involved in any way. The company itself has not yet received any requests from the US government, but has directly announced full cooperation.

(mho)