Europe is demanding more transparency from Chinese online marketplace Temu, as well as additional measures against counterfeit goods and unsafe or illegal products.
‘Very large online platform’
As a result of Temu’s rapidly increasing popularity, the European Commission now considers the e-commerce player to be a ‘very large online platform’. As a result, the Chinese company must comply with stricter legislation, laid down in the European ‘Digital Services Act’.
By the end of September, Temu will be required to report on the measures the platform takes against the distribution of illegal content, counterfeit goods or unsafe products. The company must also take additional steps to protect underage consumers. Furthermore, the European Union demands transparency on the algorithms Temu uses and the sellers active on the platform.
75 million users
The Digital Services Act imposes these requirements on all online platforms that reach more than 45 million monthly users in Europe. With as many as 75 million users, the subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo has been well above this threshold for some time. Also covered by the regulations are household names like Zalando, Shein and Amazon.
Only a fortnight ago, European consumer organisation BEUC and seventeen national consumer organisations filed a complaint against the Chinese marketplace for its lack of transparency and use of manipulation techniques.
