European consumer organisations file complaint against Chinese online shop Temu
The European consumer organisation BEUC and 17 of its members - including the Belgian Test Achats/Testaankoop - have filed a complaint against the online shop Temu. They accuse the Chinese e-commerce platform of violating new European rules on digital services.
While BEUC has filed a complaint with the European Commission, the 17 members have filed complaints with the competent authorities in their own countries. Test Achats did so in Belgium.
"Temu often fails to provide consumers with full information about the actual seller of the products and is therefore unable to indicate whether the product meets EU product safety requirements," said Test Achats spokeswoman Laura Clays.
"Temu (...) is unable to indicate whether the product meets EU product safety requirements"
"The platform is also guilty of so-called 'dark patterns', which are manipulative practices designed to make consumers buy or pay more," Clays said. "For example, if you click on a product, you will not only be presented with that one product, but also a series of other, more expensive ones. And it turns out that deleting an account is a lot harder than creating one."
75 million monthly active users
Temu launched its platform in Europe in 2023, and now has 75 million monthly active users in the EU. Its business model is similar to that of other Chinese shopping platforms such as Shein or Alibaba. Most of the products sold on Temu are shipped directly to consumers from Chinese factories or warehouses.
American consumers already lodged a complaint against the company, due to privacy concerns. According to them, Temu's app "is purposefully and intentionally loaded with tools to execute virulent and dangerous malware and spyware activities on user devices".
© PHOTO: JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA
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