diff --git a/internal/events/dispatch-hooks.ts b/internal/events/dispatch-hooks.ts
index 9f27cab2a7..ae8b55db7e 100644
--- a/internal/events/dispatch-hooks.ts
+++ b/internal/events/dispatch-hooks.ts
@@ -154,6 +154,15 @@ export function setupDispatchHooks(
         // Re-dispatch the event. We can't reuse `redispatchEvent()` since we
         // need to add the hooks to the copy before it's dispatched.
         isRedispatching = true;
+        const composedPathIncludesAnchor = event
+          .composedPath()
+          .some((el) => (el as Partial<HTMLElement>)?.matches?.('a'));
+        if (event.type === 'click' && composedPathIncludesAnchor) {
+          // For legacy reasons, synthetic click events dispatching on
+          // HTMLAnchorElement will trigger link behavior. Prevent this since
+          // we will dispatch a copy of the same click event.
+          event.preventDefault();
+        }
         const dispatched = event.composedPath()[0].dispatchEvent(eventCopy);
         isRedispatching = false;
         if (!dispatched) {
diff --git a/internal/events/dispatch-hooks_test.ts b/internal/events/dispatch-hooks_test.ts
index 3cb40da93b..7fc1c98cf6 100644
--- a/internal/events/dispatch-hooks_test.ts
+++ b/internal/events/dispatch-hooks_test.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,27 @@ describe('dispatch hooks', () => {
         .withContext('innerClickListener')
         .toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
     });
+
+    it('should not trigger activation behavior for clicks coming from inner <a> elements', () => {
+      const shadowRoot = element.attachShadow({mode: 'open'});
+      const anchorElement = document.createElement('a');
+      anchorElement.href = '#';
+      shadowRoot.appendChild(anchorElement);
+
+      setupDispatchHooks(element, 'click');
+
+      const clickEvent = new MouseEvent('click', {
+        bubbles: true,
+        cancelable: true,
+        composed: true,
+      });
+
+      anchorElement.dispatchEvent(clickEvent);
+
+      expect(clickEvent.defaultPrevented)
+        .withContext('clickEvent.defaultPrevented')
+        .toBeTrue();
+    });
   });
 
   describe('afterDispatch()', () => {