Brussels has been again piling pressure on China’s Temu shopping platform, with an alliance of State-level consumer agencies accusing the online site of having broken European Union law in multiple areas.
An investigation conducted by the Brussels-backed Consumer Protection Co-operation (CPC) Network allegedly found that Temu was providing fake discounts to consumers, while also subjecting them to pressure-selling and so-called “forced gamification”.
It added that information on Temu’s website regarding consumer rights was often missing or misleading, that the outlet made it difficult to find the contact details necessary for submitting complaints, and that the protections against fake reviews on the site may be insufficient.
“Temu now has one month to reply to the CPC Network’s findings and propose commitments on how they will address the identified consumer law issues,” read a press release published by the European Commission on November 8.
“Depending on Temu’s reply, the CPC Network may enter a dialogue with the company.”
“If Temu fails to address the concerns raised by the CPC Network, national authorities can take enforcement measures to ensure compliance. This includes the possibility to impose fines based on Temu’s annual turnover in the member states concerned,” the EC added.
In response to the accusations, a Temu spokesperson told Brussels Signal that the company “acknowledges the concerns raised by the European Commission and national consumer authorities”, adding that it was committed to “working closely with the relevant regulators to address any issues and ensure compliance with EU laws”.
“Although we have gained popularity with many consumers in a relatively short time, we are still a very young platform — less than two years in the EU — and are actively learning and adapting to local requirements,” the spokesman added.
“We will fully co-operate with this investigation as we believe that such scrutiny benefits consumers, merchants and the platform in the long term.”
News of the investigation came hot on the heels of an earlier announcement that the EC was conducting a formal Digital Services Act probe into the company over its practices.
It also followed the election of Donald Trump as US President on November 6, with him making it clear he wanted to distance his country from what he said was its reliance on Chinese manufacturing and trade.
Yesterday, our CEO @PatEgan had the pleasure of analysing the results of the U.S. presidential election at a debate organized by @MCC_Brussels.
Many issues were discussed at the event including what we can expect from the incoming Trump administration.
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