Report: TP-Link’s low router prices probed in criminal antitrust investigation
Router maker TP-Link is facing a criminal antitrust investigation into whether it engaged in predatory pricing, Bloomberg reported yesterday. TP-Link was already facing government scrutiny over its ties to China.
"The US is conducting a criminal antitrust investigation into pricing strategies by TP-Link Systems Inc., a California-based router maker with links to China whose equipment now dominates the American market, according to people familiar with the matter," Bloomberg wrote. "Beyond pricing, a focus of the inquiry is also whether the company's growing US market share represents a threat to national security... The scrutiny began in late 2024 under the Biden administration and has continued under President Donald Trump."
Justice Department prosecutors are investigating whether TP-Link engaged in a predatory pricing scheme that "involves selling goods below cost in order to gain market share before raising prices once competitors have either been hobbled or eliminated," the report said.