Temu faces legal problems in EU over 'manipuative practices'

European consumer groups yesterday accused Chinese shopping app Temu of using "manipulative techniques" to force users to spend more and other violations of a landmark EU tech law.

One of the fastest-growing apps, Temu only entered the EU market in April 2023 and says it has on average around 75 million monthly active users in the 27-country bloc.

Europe's BEUC umbrella consumer rights group filed a complaint with the European Commission while 17 member organisations in Europe including in France, Germany and Spain have done the same with national authorities.

The groups accuse Temu of "failing to protect consumers and for using manipulative practices which are illegal."

They believe Temu is distorting or impairing consumers' ability to make "free and informed decisions" while shopping online, in violation of the EU's mammoth online content law known as the Digital Services Act.

Under the DSA, all digital platforms must remove illegal content quickly, be more transparent about how they use users' data and ensure the safety of shoppers online.

The platform fails to provide enough information about traders on Temu, "frequently leaving consumers in the dark about who they are purchasing products from," BEUC said.

And there is not enough information about how its "opaque" recommendation system works, it added, which is mandatory under the DSA.

The EU is expected to add Temu to its list of "very large" digital platforms under the DSA, which will force the company to comply with stricter rules.

Agence France-Presse