European Union imposes stricter rules on Chinese e-tailer Temu

The European Union (EU) on Friday added Chinese e-commerce group Temu to the list of major e-tailers subject to stricter regulations under the Union's new Digital Services Act (DSA), according to an EU official. EU.

Temu has made rapid progress in Europe thanks to its ultra-low pricing strategy and has become the 24th site, along with Amazon, Shein and Zalando, to which EU authorities have imposed extremely strict rules to protect consumers against content illegal. The information was revealed to the AFP agency by an anonymous source.

Temu is the international incarnation of Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, founded in 2015, and markets a wide range of products, including clothing, toys, home decor items, DIY tools, electronics, high-tech devices and more.

Temu, which has more than 75 million monthly users in the EU, has recently been accused by several consumer associations of manipulating web users and violating several provisions of the DSA. Temu is reportedly using misleading interfaces known as “dark patterns” to entice customers to spend more, according to the Association of the European Consumer Bureau (BEUC), which has filed a complaint with the European Commission.

In February, the DSA imposed new obligations on all online platforms to better protect users against illegal content. Temu will have to comply with these new rules by the end of September.
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Violators of DSA rules could be fined up to 6% of their annual global revenue, or even banned from operating in Europe.