The EU Commission opened formal proceedings against Temu Thursday to assess whether the Chinese-owned online marketplace may have breached EU law in areas linked to the sale of illegal products.
The Commission believes Temu may have breached the DSA with its potentially addictive design of the service, the systems used to recommend purchases to users, and also data access for researchers.
The decision follows preliminary analyses of the risk assessment report provided by Temu in September 2024, replies to Commission requests for information, and information shared by third parties.
The investigation will focus on the following areas:
- The systems Temu has in place to limit the sale of non-compliant products in the European Union. Among others, it concerns systems designed to limit the reappearance of previously suspended rogue traders, known to have been selling non-compliant products in the past, as well as systems to limit the reappearance of non-compliant goods.
- The risks linked to the addictive design of the service, including game-like reward programmes, and the systems Temu has in place to mitigate the risks stemming from such addictive design, which could have negative consequences to a person’s physical and mental well-being.
- The compliance with the DSA obligations linked to how Temu recommends content and products to users. This includes the requirement to disclose the main parameters used in Temu’s recommender systems and to provide users with at least one easily accessible option that is not based on profiling.
- The compliance with the DSA obligation to give researchers access to Temu’s publicly accessible data.
Temu would face liability under the DSA if the Commission’s suspicions are proved correct. The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation as a matter of priority. Though it stresses that opening formal proceedings does not prejudge the outcome.
EU Official Journal text on the DSA
Very large online platforms and search engines under the DSA
