Republican attorneys general around the country are suing consumer-product companies that allegedly have ties to the CCP.
State-level consumer protection lawsuits against companies with suspected ties to the Chinese Communist party have become the newest front in U.S. efforts to combat Chinese influence and protect national security.
Republican attorneys general have begun filing lawsuits and investigating companies with links to the CCP for alleged violations of consumer protection laws. The emerging legal campaign is focused on national security concerns related to CCP access to American data and China’s broader all-front push to influence U.S. institutions.
“Consumers are the frontline of this geopolitical conflict. When I talk about consumers, I’m talking about families, I’m talking about small and large businesses. I’m talking about the state. Every consumer’s phone, app, home device, every piece of equipment can really serve as that access point for the [Chinese Communist Party],”Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox (R) said during a discussion Wednesday with the Federalist Society.
Nebraska is leading the way with consumer protection lawsuits against Chinese e-commerce giant Temu and home security camera Lorex, a firm that was previously owned by Chinese surveillance tech manufacturer Dahua.
“There’s a very significant and intentional effort to surveil Americans or get data on Americans or steal intellectual property,” said Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers. “Chinese companies are taking advantage of the American marketplace and American consumers by accessing their information and in doing so not being honest in the marketplace.”
Nebraska’s lawsuit against Temu alleges the platform is illegally harvesting data from customers, including teenagers, enabling infringement and counterfeit products, and engaging in deceptive marketing practices. Other states including Kentucky and Arkansas have also sued Temu for alleged data privacy violations and other legal issues. Temu recently settled with the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission for $2 million to resolve a lawsuit over alleged violations of a law requiring online marketplaces to disclose certain information to consumers about high-volume sellers.
Temu has faced scrutiny from a congressional committee for relying on the de minimis trade loophole to avoid tariffs and quality control checks on cheap imports including a law prohibiting the use of forced labor from Uyghur Muslims in China’s northwestern Xinjiang province. The Trump administration closed the de minimis loophole in April and began enforcing the closure in August, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol announced.
Nebraska’s lawsuit accuses Lorex of misleading consumers by failing to disclose potential privacy issues related to Dahua. Lorex has vigorously denied the allegations that the security of its devices may be compromised by its affiliation with Dahua. The U.S. government blacklisted Dahua in 2022 due to its involvement with CCP atrocities against Uyghurs. For similar reasons, the GOP attorneys general of Florida and Texas have launched investigations into Lorex.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced last year a data protection initiative to enforce state privacy laws and prevent companies from taking advantage of consumer data. To that end, Paxton launched an investigation into U.S. tech manufacturer TP-Link Systems earlier this month for alleged violations of state privacy law. In May, Paxton compelled several CCP-linked companies to comply with state privacy law and ensure data is not falling into the hands of the CCP. He took similar action in February against Chinese AI company Deepseek by warning the company of privacy violations and launching an investigation.
Similarly, Florida has taken legal action against Contec, a Chinese manufacturer of health-care devices, and its Miami-based subsidiary for allegedly concealing security risks in its devices that could allow patient information to be transmitted to China. Florida also accused Contec of falsely portraying its devices as FDA approved.
Hilgers is hoping Nebraska’s consumer protection lawsuits will trigger honesty and transparency from companies, allowing consumers to decide whether they want to buy products that allow the CCP access to their data. He is unsure if Nebraska would have the power to ban a product in the way the federal government can.
Chinese intelligence laws require companies to turn over data to the CCP if they seek it for intelligence work. In practice, firms cannot refuse the CCP’s demands for data if they want to continue operating in the Chinese market. China’s efforts to surveil Americans and steal intellectual property are part of its strategy of using ever levery of influence against rival nations.
To counter China’s threat, Cox is preparing for Alaska to take a “whole-of-government” approach and staffing his office accordingly. With Alaska poised to be at the heart of a potential geopolitical conflict, Cox emphasized the fundamental necessity for Alaska to be fighting China aggressively.
“What we’re dealing with from China, in my view, isn’t really just a consumer protection issue. It’s really a whole of society challenge,” Cox said. Citing the Department of Defense, he called China a “pacing threat,” meaning it is the greatest competitor to the U.S. economically, technologically, and military.
“We’re going to be launching a new counter China initiative,” Cox said, in order to “confront this threat from a whole of government perspective” beginning soon. He is particularly concerned about the way China has embedded itself into U.S. energy and critical infrastructure.
State attorneys general have the ability to act more quickly than the federal government because of consumer protection laws and the long regulatory process for federal agencies.
“State AGs are uniquely positioned,” Cox said. “We have the tools to act where the federal regulators may move a little bit more slowly.”
The AGs praised the Trump administration’s agencies for taking the Chinese threat to U.S. consumers seriously and helping the state AGs with information sharing.
“We try to go within the heartland of our authority, so state consumer cases, and we try to share information,” Hilgers said. He leveraged information from the Federal Communications Commission’s no fly zone for the Lorex case because Dahua is one of the companies on it.
“We’re sharing information where we need to, we’re not stepping on each other’s toes,” he added. “It’s really worked very well, speaking for Nebraska under my tenure as AG and speaking for this administration’s current leadership.”
Cox gave similar praise for the Trump administration’s work as a “great partner” and said partnering with federal agencies will be an aspect of his new China initiative.
Earlier this week, the FCC moved to further restrict imports of Chinese telecommunications technology the agency considers a national security risk, the latest in a series of moves meant to crackdown on Chinese electronics. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said earlier this month that U.S. retailers had removed millions of listings for prohibited Chinese electronics to comply with the FCC’s new rules.