The European Union has launched a formal investigation into Chinese shopping platform Temu over concerns that the platform sells illegal products and is designed in a way that is addictive to consumers.
“There is a real suspicion that not enough is being done – and not in an effective way – to really prevent the spread of illegal products,” a European Commission official told reporters on Thursday morning, without being named. Potentially illegal products include pharmaceuticals, toys and cosmetics, they said.
Although Temu regularly removes illegal products, these products reappear very quickly, another official said. “So we believe that some of the existing controls are not working properly.”
Earlier this year, industry body Toy Industries of Europe released a report warning that none of the 19 toys it purchased on Temu.com complied with EU law. After sending the toys to a laboratory for testing, they claimed that many of them posed significant risks to children. The group said a baby rattle had sharp edges and the chemicals in a Temu slime pack were 11 items higher than the legal limit for a toy.
“Our enforcement will ensure a level playing field and that every platform, including Temu, fully respects the laws that keep our European market safe and fair for all,” Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who oversees competition and digital policy, said in a statement.
Officials also said they were concerned about addictive design and recommendation systems on Temu, as they feature gamified reward programs and infinite scrolling.
Concerns about addictive design on Temu echo another recent EU investigation into a TikTok rewards program launched in France and Spain in April. TikTok Lite, a basic version of TikTok itself, offered to pay users a few cents per day for watching videos. Following the announcement of EU concerns, TikTok's parent company Bytedance removed the feature from the region.
A spokesperson for Temu told WIRED that the company is investing in its compliance system. “We will cooperate fully with regulators to support our shared goal of a safe, trusted marketplace for consumers,” they said.
Temu was only launched on the European market in April 2024 and the turnout was huge. As of September, Temu had more than 90 million EU users, meaning it is subject to the strictest rules under the Digital Services Act. The law, which came into effect last year, gives regulators the ability to fine companies up to six percent of their global turnover. In March, AliExpress became the first online marketplace to face an investigation under the Digital Services Act.
Temu can now provide data to prove that the EU's suspicions are unfounded, or it can make changes to the platform to avoid fines. The research does not have to be completed within a certain period.
“This decision by the Commission is a promising step, but only the first,” Fernando Hortal Foronda, digital policy officer at the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) said in a statement on Thursday. “Now it is important that the Commission continues to put pressure on Temu and pushes the company to comply with the law as quickly as possible.”
