“The Temu app is designed to collect sensitive user data without the user’s knowledge or consent, and it’s purposely designed to evade detection of this type of data collection,” the attorney general’s office said.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Maeyes has filed a lawsuit against Temu and its parent company, PDD Holdings, claiming that the China-based e-commerce platform steals consumer data.
According to The Associated Press, Mayes claims that Temu intentionally deceives customers about the quality of its low-cost products. She also says that the company collects a “shocking” amount of sensitive personal information. Temu allegedly retains the ability to collect GPS-related location data, and it can identify and list any and all other applications present on a particular smartphone, too.
In a press conference, Mayes said that her office also concerns about Temu being subject to Chinese laws that require companies to comply with government requests for data.
“It can detect everywhere you go, to a doctor’s office, to a public library, to a political event, to your friends’ houses,” Mayes said. “So the scope of this invasion of privacy is enormous, and that’s why I consider it possibly the gravest violation of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act that we have ever seen in Arizona.”
The Associated Press notes that Mayes has other goals. During the same press conference, she said that the state also wants to protect local businesses from being defrauded or having their products copied by Temu merchants. Mayes claimed that Temu-based merchants have infringed upon the intellectual property rights of brands that include the Arizona Cardinals and Arizona State University.
Temu has since denied the allegations.
“We help consumers and families access quality products at affordable prices,” the company said in a statement. “We work to keep costs down and maintain reliable supply so people can meet their needs without stretching their budgets.”
“We also create growth opportunities for businesses by offering a low-cost alternative to traditional gatekeepers,” TikTok said. “By providing another route to the market, we return power and choice to local players, small and medium-sized businesses, and consumers.”
Mayes, though, said that states—and the federal government—need to take the risk posed by applications like Temu more seriously. Speaking to reporters, Mayes said that Temu is more problematic from a security standpoint than TikTok, the parent company of which is also based in China.
“Temu is a Chinese company, mandated by Chinese law to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Government Intelligence apparatus,” Mayes said.
According to Mayes’s office, state investigators analyzed Temu’s code and found that portions resembled either malware or spyware, allowing for the exfiltration of data from consumer devices without giving any indication that it is collecting and sending such information.
“The Temu app is designed to collect sensitive user data without the user’s knowledge or consent, and it’s purposely designed to evade detection of this type of data collection,” Mayes said.
Sources
Arizona AG sues Temu over allegations of data collection, ripping off businesses
Arizona attorney general sues Chinese online retailer Temu over data theft claims
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