Paxton Sues Chinese Spy Tech to Protect Texans

Texas is done waiting on Washington.

Attorney General Ken Paxton filed four major lawsuits this week against companies hiding deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party. TP-Link routers. Anzu Robotics drones. Lorex security cameras. The Temu shopping app. Each case exposes how Chinese-linked companies are infiltrating Texas homes and businesses—all while deceiving consumers about their true origins.

The router case reveals the depth of the deception. TP-Link markets its devices as “Made in Vietnam” while sourcing nearly all components from China. The petition calls them “modern weapons of war”—and he’s not wrong. These routers sit at the center of every digital home. Financial data. Business records. Medical information. If China can access them through companies legally required to cooperate with Beijing’s intelligence apparatus, that’s a sovereignty crisis.

The drone case proves rebranding doesn’t erase the threat. Texas alleges Anzu Robotics’ “American” drone is just a DJI Mavic 3 painted green. DJI remains on the U.S. Prohibited Technologies List for good reason. The petition claims DJI still holds the cryptographic keys—meaning the “American” company never actually controlled its own product.

Lorex targets the most vulnerable spaces. Parents buy these cameras to watch nurseries and bedrooms. The lawsuit says Lorex hid that the components came from Zhejiang Dahua Technology, a Chinese Military Company. “Protect what matters most,” indeed.

Then there’s Temu. The state calls it “spyware disguised as a shopping app.” The app collects far more data than any legitimate retailer needs—and admits Chinese law may give Beijing access. Tens of millions of Americans use it. This isn’t paranoia. It’s systemic exposure.

Together, these lawsuits expose something Washington refuses to acknowledge: China isn’t just buying American land. It’s buying access to American homes through consumer technology.

Texas already banned foreign adversaries from purchasing land under Senate Bill 17. Now Paxton is extending that logic to digital territory. The principle is simple: if foreign control of physical property threatens sovereignty, so does foreign control of the data flowing through Texas homes.

While Biden talks tough on China but takes no real action, Texas is filing lawsuits, exposing supply chains, and demanding transparency. That’s what independent nations do.

The federal government has failed to protect Americans from Chinese technology infiltration. Texas is filling that vacuum. Every lawsuit declares that Texas will defend its citizens when Washington won’t.

If Texas can identify and punish CCP-linked consumer technology, other states will follow. This is how digital sovereignty begins—not with grand speeches, but with specific enforcement against specific threats.

Texas is acting like the nation it already is.