TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody, along with 20 other attorneys general, is demanding answers from online retailer Temu following concerning recent reports. Attorney General Moody and the coalition are seeking information regarding the company’s alleged ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), data collection and sharing practices, and possible violations of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).
Attorney General Ashley Moody stated, “A congressional investigation uncovered that Temu may be illegally selling products made with forced labor in an area of China in which the Chinese Communist Party is committing genocide. Additionally, there are reports that Temu is gathering U.S. consumer information and passing it along to the CCP. These reports are alarming—not only on a consumer protection front but in regards to national security as well. I along with my fellow attorneys general are urging the company’s owners to respond to these allegations.”
In a letter sent Thursday to the president of Temu and the CEO of PPD Holdings Inc., Temu’s parent company, the attorneys general outline concerns with the company’s business practices following reports that it may not be following federal law or states’ consumer protection laws.
Last year, the United States House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party revealed disturbing information about Temu’s failure to comply with American laws prohibiting the use of forced labor by Uyghurs. The company admitted that “it does not have a policy in place to prohibit the sale of goods from Xinjiang – the location of the CCP’s ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs.” Temu further claimed it is not subject to UFLPA.
The same house select committee also found that Temu does not apply a real compliance system and concluded “that shipments from Temu containing products made with forced labor are entering the United States on a regular basis, in violation of UFLPA.”
The attorneys general are asking Temu to answer several questions within 30 days:
- Does Temu or PDD Holdings collect U.S. consumer data? If so, please explain what type of data is collected from U.S. consumers.
- How is U.S. consumer data retained and stored? Please provide documentation of cybersecurity and data retention policies.
- Has any entity affiliated with CCP requested or required access to this data?
- What happens when consumers request their data be deleted or their account deactivated?
- Does Temu sell U.S. consumer data? If so, who buys it?
- Do former CCP members on PDD Holdings’ executive team have access to this data?
- How does Temu certify its products are not produced by slave labor?
- What measures has Temu taken regarding internal or external audits for third-party vendors or suppliers?
- How does Temu assure consumers about product safety recalls?
Attorney General Moody is joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Virginia West Virginia