EU Commission asks Temu to clarify measures against illegal products

Chinese online marketplace Temu was asked on Friday to provide more information on the measures it has taken against traders selling illegal products on its platform under the EU’s online platform rules, the European Commission announced today.

The company will also need to give additional data and information on the measures it has adopted to mitigate the risk of the spread of illegal products, as well as risks related to consumer protection, public health and users’ wellbeing, the statement said.

Temu, which was founded by PDD Holdings in 2022, will also have to provide information on recommender systems and the risk to the protection of users’ personal data. 

In May, the Commission designated Temu as a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act (DSA), as it exceeds the threshold of 45 million monthly average users in the EU.

It had until the end of September to comply with the DSA stringent rules, including mitigating systemic risks from its services, and preventing the sale of counterfeit goods. 

Temu has now until 21 October to reply to the Commission’s questions. 

It is the second set of questions sent to the platform: in June the Commission asked the company about the measures taken to comply with DSA obligations related to the “Notice and Action mechanism” to notify among others illegal products and dark patterns as well as the protection of minors.

A Temu spokesperson said in a statement that the company is “fully cooperating.”

“In line with our longstanding commitment to compliance, we have taken further significant measures since being designated a VLOP in May and continue to refine our practices under the Digital Services Act. Consumer safety is a top priority, and we welcome feedback from all stakeholders as we work to provide access to quality, affordable products for our consumers,” the spokesperson said.

Consumer complaints

A month earlier, the European Consumer Organisation’s network (BEUC) had filed complaints under the DSA with national regulators and the Commission against Temu for failing to protect consumers and for using manipulative practices. 

The signatories – representing some 17 EU member states – claim that Temu breaches the EU’s online platform regulation by failing to provide crucial information to consumers about sellers, making it impossible to verify whether products meets EU safety requirements.

BEUC welcomes the Commission’s action today, policy officer Fernando Hortal Foronda said in a statement.

“We believe Temu is failing consumers and is likely to be breaking the law. Various member tests carried out over the past year about dangerous and illegal products point to a systemic problem that Temu is currently failing to address properly. We expect urgent changes from Temu now and hope this is the beginning of the end of consumers being exposed to harmful practices on Temu,” he said.

The DSA started applying to all online platforms last February. The EU Executive has started several non-compliance probes, including against Meta, AliExpress and TikTok.

This article has been updated with a statement from BEUC and Temu.