The EU Is Investigating Temu for Illegal Products and Addictive Design | EUROtoday

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The European Union has launched a proper investigation into Chinese buying platform Temu, citing considerations that the platform is promoting unlawful merchandise and has been designed in a approach that’s addictive for customers.

“There is a real suspicion that not enough is done—not in an effective way—to really prevent the dissemination of illegal products,” an EU Commission official advised reporters on Thursday morning, declining to be named. Potentially unlawful merchandise included prescription drugs, toys, and cosmetics, they mentioned.

Although Temu incessantly removes unlawful merchandise, these merchandise reappear once more in a short time, one other official mentioned. “So we believe some of the controls in place are not working properly.”

Earlier this yr, the commerce affiliation Toy Industries of Europe launched a report warning that not one of the 19 toys it purchased on Temu.com complied with EU laws. After sending the toys to a laboratory for testing, they claimed that a lot of them posed important dangers for kids. The group mentioned {that a} rattle for infants included sharp edges, and chemical substances in a Temu slime equipment had been 11 objects greater than the authorized restrict for toys.

“Our enforcement will guarantee 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 competitors and digital coverage, mentioned in an announcement.

Officials additionally mentioned they had been involved about addictive design and suggestion programs on Temu as a result of they function gamified reward applications and infinite scrolling.

Concerns round addictive design on Temu echo one other current EU investigation right into a TikTok rewards program launched in France and Spain in April. TikTok Lite, a fundamental model of TikTok correct, supplied to pay customers a number of cents a day for watching movies. Following the announcement of EU considerations, TikTok’s dad or mum firm ByteDance eliminated the function from the area.

A Temu spokesperson advised WIRED the corporate 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 mentioned.

Temu launched within the European market solely in April 2024, and its rise has been meteoric. By September, Temu had greater than 90 million EU customers, that means it’s topic to the strictest guidelines beneath the Digital Services Act. The regulation, which got here into impact final yr, provides regulators the power to nice firms as much as 6 % of their international turnover. In March, AliExpress grew to become the primary on-line market to face an investigation beneath the Digital Services Act.

Temu can now present knowledge to show the EU’s suspicions are unfounded or it will possibly make adjustments to the platform to keep away from fines. The investigation doesn’t should conclude by any particular deadline.

“This decision by the Commission is a promising step, but only the first,” mentioned Fernando Hortal Foronda, digital coverage officer on the European Consumer Organization (BEUC), in an announcement on Thursday. “Now, it’s important the Commission keeps up the pressure on Temu and pushes the company to comply with the law as soon as possible.”

https://www.wired.com/story/eu-temu-investigation-illegal-products-addictive-design/