Arkansas Attorney General Warns Against Data Theft by Chinese App Temu
Arkansas’s top prosecutor has issued a warning to Americans, urging them to be cautious when using the Temu market application, as its actual business involves “data theft.”
Attorney General Tim Griffin of Arkansas stated to Fox Business on Tuesday that threats from China are not a new occurrence but rather a reality; Temu is not an online marketplace like Amazon or Walmart but a company utilizing the sale of products as a means to engage in data theft.
A lawsuit was filed against Temu by Griffin’s office a week ago.
Griffin mentioned, “While online retailers like Amazon and Walmart collect certain consumer data as a normal part of their business, which is widely accepted, it is clear that Temu’s practices are far from ordinary.”
According to Griffin, the company utilizes malicious software and spyware to “access your phone and devices, collecting your data.”
He emphasized, “They aren’t just gathering traditional consumer data – they’re harvesting your entire information using malware and spyware, and their code is designed to evade detection.”
Griffin revealed that Temu is operated by its parent company Pinduoduo Inc., headquartered in Shanghai, China, and employs “former CCP officials.”
The lawsuit against the parent company demands a jury trial and a permanent injunction on Temu’s data collection activities. It also seeks a $10,000 fine for each violation of Arkansas’ Deceptive Practices Act.
The lawsuit heavily relies on a research report by Grizzly Research, a firm analyzing publicly traded companies, which alleges that Temu can “intentionally … access users’ mobile operating systems without restrictions, including but not limited to users’ cameras, specific locations, contacts, messages, documents, and other applications.”
The report further suggests that Temu potentially “has or plans to illegally sell data stolen from customers in Western countries to sustain this doomed business model.”
With each order estimated to incur a $30 loss, the company’s advertising expenses and shipping costs (from China to the US in 1-2 weeks) are exorbitant.
Temu has faced criticism within the industry for its questionable practices, including manipulating users through tactics akin to affinity scams to promote registrations, which overall manipulate a large number of people into installing their applications.
Following the lawsuit, Temu issued a statement expressing disappointment and denying the absence of any “independent fact investigation” referenced in the lawsuit.
The company stated, “The allegations in the lawsuit are based on misinformation circulating online and primarily come from a short-selling institution, with no basis; we vigorously deny these accusations and will actively defend ourselves; we understand that as a new company with an innovative supply chain model, some may misconstrue us and we may not be welcomed.”
According to data from analysis website Backlinko, Temu was the most downloaded shopping application globally in 2023, with a download count exceeding 330 million, approximately 1.8 times that of Amazon’s shopping application.
On July 1st, the Texas Public Policy Foundation also issued a similar warning about the application, stating that it can “access nearly anything on your phone,” which could potentially allow CCP officials to “theoretically install applications and spyware files on personal smart devices for comprehensive monitoring of all user activities on the phone.”
The foundation cautioned, “This would enable China (CCP) to monitor keyboard input and logs, directly obtain login credentials for other social media, emails, and banking accounts.”
At the time of publication, Temu officials had not responded to requests for comments from Epoch Times.
Americans Warned to Stop Shopping via Chinese App Temu