Dio9sys
Zack WhittakerAlmost exactly four months ago, I wrote about how the Trump administration was preparing to ban TP-Link routers, citing the company's alleged links to China. Now, the FCC has decided to ban *all* new models of foreign-made routers, even though many U.S.-made routers are also full of security flaws.
Scott Wilson@zackwhittaker Such a short sighted, ridiculous move.
Honestly man, if TP-Link WiFi routers are this country's biggest cybersecurity threat today, we're already in big trouble.
@zackwhittaker I guess I'm kind of stating the obvious. Anyway, really great article, Zack.
@scottwilson i hear you! it's so baffling, one can't help but wonder if there's something more behind the government's ostensible motives!
Dave Wilburn 
the secret ingredient is bribery
Chad McCullough
Paul Chambers🚧@scottwilson My guess is they banned all foreign routers as a prelude to TP-Link suing them had it just been a TP-Link ban. It's hard for TP-Link to say it was targeted when all were banned for so-called national security reasons.
@zackwhittaker
@zackwhittaker
Martin Vermeer FCD@paul @scottwilson @zackwhittaker But expect crypto money to change hands, and dispensations to be handed out.
Misuse Case@zackwhittaker This is like the TikTok ban nonsense all over again.
Simon Zerafa (Status: 
😊)It's a government organised and mandated shake down.
How much will router manufacturers be willing to pay to be on the good boys and girls list? 🤔🤷♂️
Time for folks to DIY and build their own routers? 🙂🤷♂️
Chibani@simonzerafa @zackwhittaker and chips 😵💫
The US does have domestic chip fabrication, so that's a good beginning.
Just about everything is sourced internationally though so with dubious regulatory bans and the prospects of higher prices due to tariffs and Trump kickbacks it's not look good 🙄🤦♂️
Geli Gak?@zackwhittaker proofs that China government has put backdoor is same quality with proofs of US said Iraq has weapon of mass destruction, like US said Iran doing uranium enrichments 🤭🤭🤭
contrasocialI have no real reason to think China doesn't put backdoors in routers, but I also have no reason to think the major US brands don't either.
I'd probably buy european where possible for that kind of stuff.
@zackwhittaker Call me cynical, but I wonder which Mar-A-Lago member is the new owner of a future US-based router manufacturing company with a near future IPO?
Oliver Schafeld»One exception to the general absence of US-made routers is the newer Starlink WiFi router. Starlink is part of Elon Musk's company SpaceX.
The company says the Starlink routers are made in Texas.«
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74787w149zo
Bingo!
SneezyI'd run a Chinese router any day over a US router
zetabeta@zackwhittaker
knowing how corrupt trump admin is, i think real motive is to make corruption deals. good for trump and chinese. bad for ordinary citizens.
chinese or foreign is just a excuse, which sound good in some circles.
Nicole ParsonsWith the GOP, Accusations are Confessions.
https://doctorow.medium.com/https-pluralistic-net-2025-10-20-post-american-internet-huawei-with-american-characteristics-b058bdfbd034
They accuse China of killswitches & embedded spyware in electronics, while in the meantime...
... it's often tech that the US itself contracted to have developed.
https://www.wired.com/story/department-homeland-security-ice-billion-dollar-agreement-palantir/
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/01/ice-going-surveillance-shopping-spree
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/02/trump-immigration-ice-israeli-spyware
https://fedscoop.com/dhs-surveillance-technology-ai-funding-document-spyware/
https://boingboing.net/2026/02/05/new-york-bill-would-require-kill-switches-on-all-3d-printers.html
katzenbergerCan somebody please name a few of these "U.S.-made routers"?
"Made in USA", not "Assembled in USA".
Nini@zackwhittaker Isn't this one of those cases where they don't care about the security flaws but do care about who gets to benefit from them?
towo@zackwhittaker
The ban is still fairly murky and could theoretically even cover routers using foreign components... good luck finding US-made SoCs
The ban is still fairly murky and could theoretically even cover routers using foreign components... good luck finding US-made SoCs
@towo @zackwhittaker What matters for security is not (so much) the router hardware but the software. And there is open-source software to turn even an x86 PC into a fine router.
Kim Spence-Jones 🇬🇧😷@zackwhittaker
So which Trump-aligned US Billionaire owns an Internet Router company? It’s always the money!
So which Trump-aligned US Billionaire owns an Internet Router company? It’s always the money!
Ryek DarkenerSeems to be a good opportunity for US startups to close the gap.
Jonathan"Banning immigrants won't save America from its terrible economy" same energy everything repeats
Nate@zackwhittaker @trending_bot If tiktok taught me anything, its that our gov is completely fine with spying, as long as its american spying.
Yuki婉梦@zackwhittaker
To be frank CN made routers really have some malicious hardware monitoring like Huawei......
To be frank CN made routers really have some malicious hardware monitoring like Huawei......
fedops 💙💛@zackwhittaker can anyone name a single US-made consumer router?
AndroidDreamer@zackwhittaker Preparing for a big return of US Robotics. Now, the one from the 56kbps modems or the one from Asimov's iRobot movie adaptation, I cannot tell...