Kentucky attorney general sues Temu for allegedly stealing data

KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman has filed a lawsuit against Temu, accusing the company of unlawful data collection.

According to a news release, the lawsuit was filed Thursday in Woodford County, alleging the Temu app has been unlawfully collecting data, violating customers’ privacy, and counterfeiting some of Kentucky’s most iconic brands

The complaint alleges that Temu:

• Illegally collects users’ data without their knowledge and consent;
• Allows unfettered access of that data to the Chinese Communist government;
• Steals the intellectual property of U.S.-owned companies, including some of Kentucky’s most iconic brands including the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Buffalo Trace Distillery and Churchill Downs; and
• Uses forced labor from Chinese ethnic minorities in clear violation of U.S. trade policies.

Temu is owned by the Chinese holding company PDD Holdings. PDD Holding’s first retail app, Pinduoduo, was banned from U.S. app stores for allegedly containing malware.

Coleman said the Temu app shares a significant amount of its code with the original Pinduoduo app and has a documented relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.

“Temu’s cheap products and flashy marketing hide real danger. Their platform can infect Kentuckians’ devices with malware, steal their personal data and send it directly to the Chinese government,” Coleman said. “At the same time, they’re eroding trust in some of Kentucky’s most iconic brands, which could lead to job losses and hardship. Kentuckians need a strong defense against this aggression, and that’s exactly what the Attorney General’s Office intends to do.”

The lawsuit said Temu is notorious for various forms of consumer fraud, including advertising items that bear no resemblance to the actual products that arrive, falsifying customer reviews, and using consumers’ payment information to order items without their consent.

Read the full complaint here.