In a bold move to shield everyday shoppers from digital sneak thieves, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has fired off a lawsuit against Temu, the ultra-cheap online bazaar that’s been flooding American inboxes with bargain alerts. Filed last week in Maricopa County Superior Court, the suit paints Temu as a wolf in discount clothing – one that’s allegedly swiping sensitive personal data from users’ phones without a whisper of permission and pulling off a laundry list of consumer scams.
At the heart of the beef: Temu’s app, which rocketed to the top of U.S. download charts in 2023, is accused of turning your smartphone into a spy novel protagonist. We’re talking unauthorized scoops of everything from your exact GPS spot to peeks at your camera, mic, and even what you’re up to in other apps. All this gets bundled up and shipped off, potentially straight to the laps of Chinese intelligence under that country’s ironclad cooperation laws. Mayes isn’t mincing words: “We allege that Temu has repeatedly and willfully violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and put the privacy of Arizonans, including minors, at extreme risk.” She added, “Arizonans should be aware that behind Temu’s low prices and shiny advertising, there is real danger. The Temu app can infect users’ devices with malware to steal their private data while carefully hiding its tracks.”
It’s not just about the creepy data vacuuming. The complaint levels charges of straight-up fraud under Arizona’s consumer protection laws, from peddling knockoff gear stamped with local legends like the Arizona Cardinals, Fender guitars, and logos from the University of Arizona, Arizona State, and Northern Arizona University, to straight-up bait-and-switch shenanigans. Picture this: You click on a “steal of a deal,” but what lands on your doorstep is a pale imitation – or worse, nothing at all, with your card mysteriously dinged anyway. Fake reviews pumped up by bots, unauthorized charges for ghost orders, and signup lures promising prizes that never materialize round out the rap sheet. Oh, and there’s a kicker: Temu’s supply chain allegedly dips into forced labor pools, thumbing its nose at U.S. trade rules.
Temu, brainchild of Chinese e-commerce powerhouse PDD Holdings (the folks behind Pinduoduo), has built an empire on dirt-cheap trinkets shipped by over 80,000 sellers from China, cranking out tens of millions of packages to U.S. doorsteps each year – Arizona included. Its app’s slick design? Mayes’ team says it’s rigged with sneaky code that rewrites itself on the fly, layers on encryption to dodge security scans, and wipes its digital footprints like a pro burglar. “I will not stand by while a Chinese company vacuums up reams of sensitive data from Arizonans’ phones and profits from deception and abuse,” Mayes declared. “We are taking Temu to court to stop these practices, protect Arizonans’ privacy, and hold Temu fully accountable under Arizona law.”
The state wants the works: an immediate halt to these data heists and dodgy dealings, plus stiff penalties to make it sting. If Mayes prevails, it could force Temu to cough up restitution for duped buyers and overhaul its app to play nice with privacy rules. For now, the AG’s office is urging folks to think twice before one-clicking those impulse buys – and to report any fishy run-ins via their hotline.
This isn’t Arizona flying solo; it’s part of a growing chorus of states eyeing Big Tech’s foreign flavors for privacy pitfalls. As holiday shopping ramps up, Mayes’ salvo serves as a stark reminder: That $5 gadget might cost you way more in the long run.
