Coordinated European action against Temu

Following a coordinated investigation at the European level, the CPC network and the European Commission notified Temu of a number of practices of the online marketplace that, according to the network’s assessment, violate the consumer protection legislation of the European Union. The network called on Temu to bring its questionable practices into line with relevant Community consumer protection rules.

Last week, the Commission launched formal proceedings under the Digital Services Act (DSA) against the Chinese online marketplace operator. The DSA procedure and the joint consumer protection enforcement procedure of the CPC network work in close cooperation and complement each other. Their aim is to provide a safe and reliable online environment in which the rights of European consumers are fully and decisively protected.

The CPC network has identified several problematic practices on the Temu online platform that may violate EU consumer protection legislation:

False discounts: Creating the false impression that the products can be purchased at a discount, however, the promised discount cannot be enforced.
Psychological pressure: Pressuring consumers to complete a purchase through tactics such as false claims of limited product inventory or false purchase deadlines.

Forced “games”: Consumers are forced to play a “spin the wheel of fortune” game to gain access to the online marketplace while hiding essential information about the terms of use associated with the game’s rewards.

Missing and misleading information: Displaying incomplete and incorrect information to consumers about their legal rights to return goods and refunds. Temu also fails to inform consumers in advance that their order must reach a certain minimum value before they can complete the purchase.
False reviews: Consumers are not adequately informed about how Temu ensures the authenticity of the reviews published on its website.
Hidden contacts: Hiding relevant information about how consumers can easily contact Temu’s customer service with their questions or complaints.

The CPC network also requested information from Temu in order to assess whether the company complies with its additional obligations under EU consumer protection law. These include your obligation to clearly inform consumers whether the seller of the product is a trader or not; ensure that product rankings, ratings and ratings are not presented in a way that is misleading to consumers; ensure that price reductions are announced and calculated correctly; and ensure that environmental claims are accurate and substantiated.