The EU Is Investigating Temu for Illegal Products and Addictive Design

The European Union has launched a ceremonial probe into Chinese buying level Temu, citing concerns that the level is selling amerciable products and has been designed successful a mode that is addictive for consumers.

“There is simply a existent suspicion that not capable is done—not successful an effectual way—to truly forestall the dissemination of amerciable products,” an EU Commission authoritative told reporters connected Thursday morning, declining to beryllium named. Potentially amerciable products included pharmaceuticals, toys and cosmetics, they said.

Although Temu often removes amerciable products, these products reappear again precise quickly, different authoritative said. “So we judge immoderate of the controls successful spot are not moving properly.”

Earlier this year, commercialized relation Toy Industries of Europe released a study warning that nary of the 19 toys it bought connected Temu.com complied with EU legislation. After sending the toys to a laboratory for testing, they claimed that galore of them posed important risks for children. The radical said that a rattle for babies included crisp edges, and chemicals successful a Temu slime kit were 11 items higher than the ineligible bounds for toys.

“Our enforcement volition warrant a level playing tract and that each platform, including Temu, afloat respects the laws that support our European marketplace harmless and just for all,” Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who oversees contention and integer policy, said successful a statement.

Officials besides said they were acrophobic astir addictive plan and proposal systems connected Temu due to the fact that they diagnostic gamified reward programs and infinite scrolling.

Concerns astir addictive plan connected Temu echo different caller EU probe into a TikTok rewards programme launched successful France and Spain successful April. TikTok Lite, a basal mentation of TikTok proper, offered to wage users a respective cents a time for watching videos. Following the announcement of EU concerns, TikTok’s genitor institution Bytedance removed the diagnostic from the region.

A Temu spokesperson told WIRED the institution is investing successful its compliance system. “We volition cooperate afloat with regulators to enactment our shared extremity of a safe, trusted marketplace for consumers,” they said.

Temu lone launched successful the European marketplace successful April 2024, and its emergence has been meteoric. By September, Temu had much than 90 cardinal EU users, meaning it is taxable to the strictest rules nether the Digital Services Act. The law, which came into effect past year, gives regulators the quality to good companies up to six percent of their planetary turnover. In March, AliExpress became the archetypal online marketplace to look an investigation nether the Digital Services Act.

Temu tin present supply information to beryllium the EU’s suspicions are unfounded oregon it tin marque changes to the level to debar fines. The probe does not person to reason by immoderate circumstantial deadline.

“This determination by the Commission is simply a promising step, but lone the first,” said Fernando Hortal Foronda, integer argumentation serviceman astatine the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) successful a connection connected Thursday. “Now, it’s important the Commission keeps up the unit connected Temu and pushes the institution to comply with the instrumentality arsenic soon arsenic possible.”