A series of scandals in 2025 overshadowed Temu’s meteoric rise as a leading low-cost e-commerce company—which boasts over 292 million monthly active users globally—and heightened concerns from previous years. The platform, owned by China’s PDD Holdings, faces accusations of systemic ethical lapses, regulatory defiance, and national security threats. These issues include forced labor, data privacy violations, deceptive practices, and product safety failures, prompting scrutiny from US states, the European Union, and global regulatory bodies. Below, I detail the key controversies, along with the most significant developments, evidence, and implications, drawing on official investigations, lawsuits, and public debate.

The Department of Homeland Security launched a formal investigation by the UFLPA in November 2025, focusing on shipments that evaded scrutiny through a loophole (low-value imports under $800). In February, the Trump administration considered adding Temo to the United Mineworkers Association (UFLPA) Entity List and banning its products.

An April 2024 investigation (with repercussions continuing into 2025) revealed that Temo encouraged the use of Xinjiang cotton after the U.S. ban; factories reported encrypted communications erasing traces.

A lawsuit filed by the Nebraska Attorney General (June 2025) accused Temo of “human rights abuses” through undocumented suppliers; the Kentucky Attorney General repeated the same allegation in July.

On other issue: Temu’s app is accused of aggressive data harvesting—bypassing device settings to access contacts, location, camera, and more—potentially feeding info to China’s government under national security laws. This has fueled “malware” labels and state-led crackdowns.

We attempted to contact the company with questions, but have not yet received a response.

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