The Chinese e-commerce giant is accused of deceptive marketing practices by the attorney general of the state of Arkansas, in the United States. The application is actually malware, capable of stealing user data.
Is Temu, the Chinese e-commerce site specializing in low-cost goods, malware that steals your data? The Arkansas attorney general filed a complaint on June 25 against the Chinese platform for deceptive marketing practices, according to The Verge.
“Temu pretends to be an online shopping platform, but it is a dangerous malware that unknowingly grants itself access to virtually all data on a user’s cell phone,” said Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.
Malware
According to the complaint, the app would have the ability to modify its code and turn itself into malware, a malicious software to obtain confidential information. The app would thus have access to a host of personal information, such as location information, camera, contacts, messages or even documents shared on the user’s smartphone. All of this information would be sold to third parties. All of this, without the users’ consent.
A practice which is strangely reminiscent of that of Pinduoduo, another application from the PDD Holdings group, the operator of Temu. The app was suspended in 2023 from the Google Play Store over security concerns.
But Temu could be even more dangerous than Pinduoduo. According to a Grizzly Research study, the app “has the ability to hack users’ phones and bypass privacy settings.”
The accusations have been denied by the Chinese online retail giant. A company spokesperson toldArstechnica that his accusations are based on “disinformation circulating online” and that they are “totally unfounded”. “We categorically deny these allegations and will vigorously defend ourselves.”
Contested methods
This is not the first time Temu has been singled out. Last May, a federation of European consumer associations filed a complaint against the Chinese online commerce platform. The site was accused of manipulating Internet users and violating several provisions of the EU Digital Services Regulation (DSA).
At the end of March, Temu had to cancel an offer launched in France and the United Kingdom which consisted of exploiting the personal data of customers, for life, in exchange for money or vouchers.
A month earlier, the European Toy Industry Federation had accused the site of selling toys that did not comply with European Union regulations. In fact, 95% of them posed a real danger to the safety of children.
