We're dedicated to getting the best bang for our buck when shopping these days. For some of us, that means making sure to stock up on coupons before a Walmart or Target run. For others, it means seeking out even cheaper online retailers, like Shein and AliExpress. But if Temu is your go-to e-commerce website, you may want to take note of a new lawsuit that alleges the company is a "theft business" stealing customer data.
RELATED: Is Temu Legit? Things to Know Before You Shop.
Temu first launched in the U.S. in Sept. 2022, and the online store is able to keep prices low by using a network of Chinese manufacturers that ship items directly to shoppers, according to Reuters.
"Temu was created with the goal of empowering consumers by giving them access to a broad range of carefully curated products at ultra-competitive prices," the company stated in a press release announcing its U.S. launch. "Among the categories featured are fashion, beauty and health, home and garden, jewelry and accessories, electronics, shoes and bags, sports and outdoors, pet supplies, office products, and more."
Temu's popularity has skyrocketed over the last two years thanks to TikTok haul videos and Super Bowl ads. In February, the company's website attracted more than 358.2 million visitors, and its app reached over 29.6 million downloads, according to Analyzify.
But not everyone has hopped on the Temu bandwagon. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin just filed a lawsuit against Temu, accusing the online shopping platform of illegally accessing personal information from consumers.
"Temu is not an online marketplace like Amazon or Walmart," Griffin said in a statement for a press release accompanying the lawsuit. "It is a data theft business that sells goods online as a means to an end."
Griffin is suing the parent companies of Temu—PDD Holdings Inc. and WhaleCo Inc—for violating the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ADTPA) and the Arkansas Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) by acting as "dangerous malware."
"Specifically, Temu is purposefully designed to gain unrestricted access to a user's phone operating system, including, but not limited to, a user's camera, specific location, contacts, text messages, documents, and other applications," the suit states. "Temu is designed to make this expansive access undetected, even by sophisticated users. Once installed, Temu can recompile itself and change properties, including overriding the data privacy settings users believe they have in place. Even users without the Temu app are subject to Temu's gross overreach if any of their information is on the phone of a Temu user."
Griffin claims that Temu then "monetizes this unauthorized collection of data by selling it to third parties, profiting at the direct expense of Arkansans' privacy rights."
RELATED: 5 Red Flags About Shopping on Temu, According to Retail Experts.
This is the first state lawsuit accusing Temu of "deceptive trade practices." But in his statement, Griffin noted that this is not the first time that Temu's tactics have been called into question.
"Apple suspended Temu from its digital app store in 2023, prompting multiple investigations into the company’s dealings, including an ongoing investigation being conducted by the U.S. Congress," the AG said.
Apple's suspension against Temu was lifted in early July 2023 after resolving transparency concerns, per Politico. But it is clear that many people's trust in Temu is still low—even if they are willing to shop from the company. A 2024 survey from Omnisend found that only 4 percent of those in the U.S. say they trust Temu more than Amazon.
"What Temu is doing is selling goods at a rock bottom price, not to make a profit off of those, but as a way to get into your phone, your device, and to collect your data. Not just traditional consumer data, but using malware spyware to have complete access to your information," Griffin said in a July 2 interview on Fox Business' Varney & Co.
Best Life reached out to Temu about the new lawsuit, and we will update this story with its response.
But in a statement to Fox Business, a spokesperson for Temu said that the company was "surprised and disappointed" by the claims, accusing Griffin of filing his suit "without any independent fact-finding."
"The allegations in the lawsuit are based on misinformation circulated online, primarily from a short-seller, and are totally unfounded. We categorically deny the allegations and will vigorously defend ourselves," the Temu spokesperson said.
