Temu

Reasons to avoid

1. Congressional investigators found in 2023 that Temu had no compliance program to screen for goods linked to forced labor in China's Xinjiang region, raising concerns the company was violating the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party cited Temu by name for failing to prevent the import of forced labor goods into the U.S.apnews.com2023-06-22
2. Multiple state attorneys general have sued Temu, alleging the app is designed to function as spyware that covertly harvests GPS locations, contact lists, and device data, then transmits it to servers in China. Arizona's AG launched a suit in December 2025 after a forensic review found the app's code contained patterns recognized by experts as malware, capable of exfiltrating user data while hiding its activity from detection.azag.gov2025-12-02
3. The European Commission found in July 2025 that consumers shopping on Temu face a high risk of encountering illegal products, based on an investigation under the EU's Digital Services Act. Undercover test purchases found non-compliant baby toys and small electronics on the platform, and Temu faces fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue if the preliminary findings are confirmed.pbs.org2025-07-28
4. In September 2025, the FTC fined Temu $2 million in the first-ever enforcement action under the INFORM Consumers Act, finding the platform had deliberately concealed tools for reporting counterfeit or stolen goods. The FTC found that Temu's gamified shopping features like spin wheels and coupon games had no seller disclosure or fraud reporting mechanism at all until November 2024, more than a year after the law took effect.ftc.gov2025-09-05