The truth about Temu – ‘toxic goods, data selling and addiction tricks’

It’s the shopping website known for selling super cheap goods, but from allegations of forced labor to claims of third-degree burns, could Temu be too good to be true?

A family claimed their young daughter suffered burns after using a nail glue from Temu(Kennedy News & Media)

Retailer Temu’s popularity rivals that of Amazon and Shein in the UK, but the Chinese shopping app is also shrouded in controversy.

Temu recently caused a stir by offering ‘free money’ for new sign-ups, with hundreds of people flooding the internet with screenshots of £50 being paid into their PayPal accounts. The promotion, which was perfectly legal, offered a combination of cash and store credit to new members, but the cyber security expert warned it could lead to people’s information being sold to advertisers.




“This app is effectively offering money – not free – but offering money in exchange for personal data and device data,” Jake Moore, Global Cyber ​​Security Advisor at ESET, told the Daily Mail. “Data is the new currency and it has been around for a while. In extreme cases, it can also be used for identity fraud, because if that data is compromised, it can be very dangerous for those people who have provided their data. “

Chloe Norris suffered burns that her parents believe were caused by Temu’s nail glue(Kennedy News & Media)
The 11-year-old remained in need of a skin transplant(Kennedy News & Media)

A company spokesperson responded: “We do not and will not sell customer data. Like many other companies, Temu uses various marketing strategies to attract new customers. Our cash reward program offers referral incentives – a common customer acquisition method used in the industry Some participants expressed concern about the Terms and Conditions of the promotion.

“To reassure our customers, we revised the T&C to clearly specify the minimum information used: usernames and profile pictures for referral notifications and winner announcements. The previous terms and conditions had inadvertently included promotional uses in which Temu not included.”

This is not the first time that Temu has come under criticism for its practices. The retailer’s prices are often a third of those of Amazon, with 15 million people in the UK alone downloading the app.

Tempting items currently on sale include a children’s dinosaur backpack for £1.29 and a pair of women’s walking shoes for £7.78. But a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary tonight has revealed dangerous levels of toxic materials in products including children’s clothing.

Last year, the parents of Chloe Norris, 11, claimed she suffered third-degree burns and needed a skin graft after using glue bought by Temu to make her fake nails. The shopping app launched an investigation and offered the Kent schoolgirl a £1,500 credit as a goodwill gesture.

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