Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Temu for what her office has called "malicious data collection and deceiving consumers."
The lawsuit alleges the e-commerce platform, based largely in China, violated Missouri residents’ privacy, hurt Missouri brands and may have aided the Chinese Communist Party in the process, after it allegedly used aggressive and misleading data collection practices, misleading pricing, false statements about product quality and other harmful business practices, according to a news release from Hanaway's office.
Launched in 2022, Temu is owned by PDD Holdings and operates as a global online shopping platform. The name comes from the phrase "team up, price down," which reflects a consumer-to-manufacturer group-buying model designed to lower costs by connecting buyers directly with factories, according to Temu's website.
“My advice to all Missourians is to delete this app," Hanaway said in the news release. "Temu lied to you, stole your data, packaged it up, and potentially delivered it to the CCP. Our office will continue to crack down on illegal operations that intentionally harm Missouri consumers through deception and unlawful business practices. We will fight to protect Missourians’ privacy and to secure restitution for those victimized by Temu.”
The lawsuit alleges the following:
- The Temu app is intentionally designed to hack into devices and facilitate extensive data exfiltration.
- The Temu app is designed to intentionally and covertly steal large amounts of personally identifiable information from users’ mobile devices. This includes real-time location data within 10 feet of accuracy, microphone access, camera access, a list of all apps and accounts downloaded on devices and more.
- The app can evade detection of this PII theft by reconfiguring itself without the user's knowledge or consent, even after having been downloaded.
- Temu uses large swaths of code from an earlier version of the app that was banned by the Google Play Store for serious malware concerns.
- Multiple portions of Temu’s code are widely recognized by experts as spyware and malware.
- Widespread illegal listings for unlicensed merchandise with the trademarks of the Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Blues, Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser and the University of Missouri have also been found.
According to the news release, PDD Holding maintains substantial operations in mainland China, where the law obligates companies to provide authorities with unrestricted access to their data and to keep any such access confidential. PDD's public filing acknowledges this risk, but does not inform Temu users when they sign up, according to the news release.
There is also no age verification policy or parent consent measures for American users, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges Temu also uses manipulative tactics toward minors such as child-targeted advertising and gamification. The platform also includes listing for drug paraphernalia, weapons and other dangerous items that are available to minors, according to the lawsuit
“As we move into the holiday season, Missourians need to be especially wary of what websites, applications and e-commerce platforms they and their children use. As we’ve seen in this case, many apps aren’t as safe as they may appear,” Hanaway said. “We want children to be safe in every online space, whether they’re using social media or engaging as consumers.”
The news release also states that federal investigators have raised serious concerns about Temu’s supply chain. A recent report issued by the United States House Select Committee on China found that Temu shipments arriving from China are likely to contain goods produced by forced labor. The report also found that Temu made no meaningful effort to screen or verify its supply chain.
According to the release, Hanaway is seeking a permanent injunction prohibiting Temu from violating the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
Missourians who believe they have been affected by Temu’s business practices may submit a complaint online at ago.mo.gov or by calling 800-392-8222.
KOMU 8 News has reached out to Temu seeking comment and has not received a response.
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