Kentucky took aim at Chinese company Temu, alleging in a lawsuit that it counterfeited popular Kentucky-designed merchandise and violated customers’ privacy.
Temu, an online shopping app owned by the multibillion-dollar Chinese company PDD Holdings, has quickly become one of the most downloaded apps in the U.S., despite warnings about poor privacy controls and ties to China’s communist government.
In Kentucky, Temu allegedly stole intellectual property, illegally collected online user data without their consent and offered it to the Chinese government, and relied on forced labor to run the company, according to the lawsuit filed by the office of Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman in Woodford County Circuit Court.
Temu allegedly stole brands close to the heart of Kentuckians, including those of the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, the Trace Distillery, and Churchill Downs. Temu then sold the counterfeited merchandise, the suit alleged. The company also delivers products that look nothing like those ordered by customers and manufactures fake reviews of its products to make them appear more popular, Coleman says.
“Temu’s cheap products and flashy marketing hide real danger. Their platform can infect Kentuckians’ devices with malware, steal their personal data and send it directly to the Chinese government,” Coleman said in a press release July 17. “At the same time, they’re eroding trust in some of Kentucky’s most iconic brands, which could lead to job losses and hardship. Kentuckians need a strong defense against this aggression, and that’s exactly what the Attorney General’s Office intends to do.”
Other states, including Arkansas and Nebraska, have filed similar lawsuits against Temu.
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have identified the People’s Republic of China as the source of extensive spying and cyberattacks on U.S. businesses and government agencies. Temu is viewed by critics as an open door between the private information of U.S. residents and the Chinese government.
In 2023, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission raised concerns that Temu may be using forced labor.
The company couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
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