EU Investigates Shopping App Temu Over Illegal Products
The EU's scrutiny centers on whether Temu is complying with regulations designed to protect consumers and ensure product safety.
The European Union has initiated a formal investigation into the shopping app Temu, which is suspected of facilitating the sale of illegal products.
This action was announced on Thursday, Oct 31, 2024, amid concerns that Temu, a platform founded in China, is not adequately preventing the distribution of such items on its site.
The EU has been increasingly vigilant about ensuring online marketplaces adhere to strict product safety standards.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, Temu could face significant penalties or be required to implement stricter controls over its product listings.
The investigation will also examine risks associated with the platform’s “potentially addictive design,” which could have “negative impacts” on users’ “physical and mental well-being,” stated the European Commission, the EU’s influential digital regulatory body.
The EU probe will also look at Temu’s systems and how they recommend content and products to users as well as whether the platform is complying with the obligation to give researchers access to Temu’s publicly available data, the commission said.
This probe is being initiated under the extensive Digital Services Act (DSA), a law that requires the world’s largest tech companies to take stronger measures to safeguard European consumers online.
“We want to ensure that Temu is complying with the Digital Services Act. Particularly in ensuring that products sold on their platform meet EU standards and do not harm consumers,” EU tech chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
The EU is seeking more information on the measures Temu has implemented to “limit the sale” of illegal products and prevent their “reappearance” on the platform.
Meanwhile, Temu reacting to the development, in a statement said that it would cooperate with the EU.
“Temu takes its obligations under the DSA seriously, continuously investing to strengthen our compliance system and safeguard consumer interests on our platform,” a Temu spokesperson said.
“We will cooperate fully with regulators to support our shared goal of a safe, trusted marketplace for consumers,” the spokesperson said in a statement.