The European Commission adds the online sales company Temu to its list of companies investigated under the new Digital Services Law with which it aims to put a stop to irregular online behavior. Brussels has opened an investigation into the Chinese company due to suspicions of sales of illegal products online as well as the addictive design of its interface. This is a new procedure, in which other similar platforms, such as Shein or Aliexpress, are already immersed, and which can culminate in the imposition of fines of up to 6% of turnover.
“The Commission has launched a formal procedure to assess whether Temu may have infringed the Digital Services Act in areas related to the sale of illegal products, the potentially addictive design of the service, the systems used to recommend purchases to users, as well as the access to data for researchers,” says the community government in a statement.
The European Commission questions the “systems that Temu has to limit the sale of products” that are illegal in the EU, such as those that it must put in place to prevent merchants who have previously been suspended for these practices as well as the products themselves from reappearing. . Brussels also focuses on reward programs for users, considering that they pose a risk for addiction that could have “negative consequences for physical and mental well-being.” of a person as well as Temu’s recommendation systems. Among the non-compliances that the community government has detected are also the obstacles to researchers’ access to public data.
“We want to ensure that Temu complies with legislation on digital services. In particular, by ensuring that products sold on its platform comply with EU standards and do not harm consumers. Our request will ensure a level playing field and that all platforms, including Temu, fully comply with the laws that make our European market safe and fair for everyone,” says Vice President of Competition, Margrethe Vestager.
The file will be inherited by Teresa Ribera’s new team. The investigation does not have a specific deadline for its conclusion and the exchange of information with the company now begins, which can remedy any failures detected by the European Commission while the process is developing.
Temu is a Chinese company that offers consumer products at much lower prices than its competitors and, above all, with imitations in the home and decoration field. According to its latest statement from September, it has 92 million monthly users.
#Brussels #investigates #Chinese #company #Temu #suspicions #online #sales #illegal #products
