(StraightNews.org) – Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has accused Chinese platform Temu of violating state law and collecting information on American consumers. The shopping app bypassed Amazon last year as the world’s biggest online shopping site, and Griffin claims it has access to “virtually all data on a user’s cell phone.” He labeled the shopping platform “dangerous malware.”
The Texas Public Policy Foundation holds a similar view and said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could conceivably install spyware on phones and conduct “complete surveillance” of all user activity.
Chinese company PDD Holdings, headquartered in Ireland, owns Temu and a platform called Pinduoduo. Last year, Google Play Store suspended Pinduoduo over security concerns.
PDD Holdings insists it is independent of the CCP, but Chinese law affords the government extensive influence over all Chinese-registered companies. The Council on Foreign Relations notes that under China’s 2017 national intelligence laws, “all Chinese companies and entities appear legally required to conduct intelligence work on behalf of the Chinese government.”
Mr. Griffin recently stated there is no comparison between Temu and US companies like Amazon, saying it is a “theft business that sells goods as a means to an end.”
Additionally, some campaigners say Temu keeps its prices low by exploiting slave labor. Meanwhile, customers complain of substandard purchases and problems receiving refunds. A Chicago shopper told reporters that she received faulty products and was told she must return them through a complex process involving printed UPS labels and photos of the product’s flaws. She said there were some items she did not take the time to send back.
The Better Business Bureau has awarded Temu a C+ grade, and its customer rating review shows high levels of dissatisfaction, with just 2.5 stars out of 5. The Federal Trade Commission also says it received 3,323 complaints about Temu between October 2022 and January 2024. California, New York, and Texas registered the highest number of complaints.
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