Legal Intelligence

Missouri Sues Baby Monitor Maker Over Alleged Chinese Military Ties

The lawsuit tests how state attorneys general are using consumer protection law to address federal Pentagon designations of Chinese military-linked companies operating in U.S. consumer markets.

The Congressional Times · June 15, 2026

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a civil lawsuit on June 15, 2026, against Lorex Technology, a baby monitor manufacturer, alleging the company concealed its connections to Zhejiang Dahua Technology, a firm the U.S. Department of Defense designated as a Chinese military company in 2022 under Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act. The lawsuit was reported by the Washington Examiner citing the filing.

According to the complaint, as described by the Washington Examiner, Lorex's hardware and software route data directly to Dahua's infrastructure, which the lawsuit alleges gives Dahua — and by extension entities connected to the Chinese government — access to data collected inside Missouri residents' homes. The Pentagon's 2022 designation of Dahua is a matter of public record and is documented in the Department of Defense's annual list of Chinese military companies, published pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 1260H.

Lorex was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Dahua before Taiwan-based Skywatch Innovation acquired the brand, according to the Washington Examiner's reporting on the complaint. The lawsuit's central allegation is that the post-acquisition Lorex continued to route data through Dahua systems without adequate disclosure to consumers, which Hanaway's office characterizes as a deceptive trade practice under Missouri law. The specific Missouri statute cited in the filing was not detailed in available public reporting as of publication.

The lawsuit is one of several state-level legal actions directed at consumer technology products with supply chain ties to Pentagon-designated Chinese military companies. Missouri's action is distinct from federal enforcement proceedings; no parallel federal lawsuit, FTC action, or Department of Justice filing related to Lorex has been confirmed in publicly available records as of June 15, 2026.

Several material facts remain unknown from available public records. It is not yet confirmed what specific damages or injunctive relief Missouri is seeking, what Lorex or Skywatch Innovation have stated in response to the complaint, or whether the filing includes technical evidence beyond the corporate ownership history. The full text of the complaint, which would be filed in Missouri state court and would be a public record upon docketing, would resolve these questions. Lorex and Skywatch Innovation had not issued publicly documented responses as of the time of publication.

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