Today, following a coordinated investigation at European level, the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network of national consumer authorities and the European Commission notified the online marketplace Temu of a number of practices on its platform that infringe EU consumer law. The CPC Network directed Temu to bring those practices in line with consumer laws of the European Union. Temu remains under investigation and was requested to provide further information to the network. The CPC Network's action against Temu is led by the competent national authorities of Belgium ( Directorate General for Economic Inspection ), Germany ( Federal Environment Agency ) and Ireland ( Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ), under the coordination of the European Commission.
The CPC Network's coordinated investigation covers a broad range of practices with which consumers are confronted while shopping on Temu, including such that may mislead consumers or unduly influence their purchasing decisions. The CPC Network is also investigating whether Temu complies with specific information obligations for online marketplaces under consumer law.
Last week, the Commission opened formal proceedings against Temu under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA proceedings and the CPC Network's joint enforcement action are complementary to each other. They aim at ensuring a safe and trustworthy online environment where the rights of consumers in Europe are fully protected.
From 13 December onwards, the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) will require that there is an economic operator established in the EU who is responsible to ensure compliance with product safety requirements, including specific obligations to online marketplaces that target consumers. Under the GPSR, the national market surveillance authorities can issue a takedown order to take the product off the internet should they identify that it is unsafe. These obligations are complementary to the DSA.
Key elements of the CPC Network's coordinated action
The CPC Network identified several types of problematic practices on Temu, which they consider to be in breach of EU consumer protection laws, such as:
- Fake discounts: Giving the false impression that products are offered with a discount where there is none.
- Pressure selling: Putting consumers under pressure to complete purchases using tactics like false claims about limited supplies or false purchase deadlines.
- Forced gamification: Forcing consumers to play a 'spin the fortune wheel' game to access the online marketplace, while hiding essential information about the conditions of use linked to the rewards of the game.
- Missing and misleading information: Displaying incomplete and incorrect information about consumers' legal rights to return goods and receive refunds. Temu also fails to inform consumers in advance that their order needs to reach a certain minimum value before they can complete their purchase.
- Fake reviews: Giving inadequate information about how Temu ensures the authenticity of reviews published on its website. National authorities found reviews which they suspect to be unauthentic.
