Nebraska Sues Temu Over Consumer Protection Violations, Stealing Phone Data
Nebraska’s Attorney General Mike Hilgers filed a lawsuit against Chinese e-commerce company Temu and its affiliates on June 11 for alleged unlawful practices, including deceiving consumers and data theft.
The lawsuit alleges that Temu has violated Nebraska’s Consumer Protection Act as well as the state’s Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
“Temu advertises itself as an e-commerce platform that offers low-cost goods to consumers. Temu claims its app is safe for American consumers, including teens. But Temu is deceiving Nebraska consumers and harming Nebraska brands, businesses, and creators,” said the attorney general's office in a statement.
Examples of Temu’s unlawful practices highlighted in the statement include: employing malware to collect Nebraskan data, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) theft of Nebraskan data, deceptive product listing practices, no meaningful return process, allowing infringement to thrive, deceptive “local” labels, and greenwashing itself as eco-friendly.
The lawsuit was filed against Temu, its owner PDD Holdings, online retailer Pinduoduo, and app operator Whaleco.
The attorney general is also seeking refunds for harmed Nebraskans, penalties for violating Nebraska laws, and all other available relief, according to the press release.
Among the sources and investigations cited in the lawsuit, is an investigative report from CNN, where sources discovered that “the app was programmed to bypass users’ cell phone security in order to monitor and record a user’s activities across their phone—everything from “checking notifications,” “monitor activities on other apps,” and even “read private messages and change settings.”
In a statement given to media outlets, a Temu spokesperson denied the allegations and called the allegations in the lawsuit without merit and will vigorously defend themselves.
According to analytics website Backlinko, 185.6 million users access the Temu mobile app at least once a month in the United States. The app was launched in 2022, and its gross merchandise value reached $70.8 billion by 2024. Currently, it takes about 17 percent of the U.S. market in the discount store category.
Nebraska is the second state to file a lawsuit against Temu. In June 2024, Arkansas’s Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a lawsuit against Temu and its affiliates for “surreptitiously granting itself access to virtually all data on a user’s cell phone,” and violating the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Personal Information Protection Act.
In August 2024, attorneys general from 21 states joined a coalition demanding answers from Temu’s parent company, PDD Holdings, regarding its data collection practices, ties to the CCP, and violations of forced labor laws.
In May 2023, Montana banned Temu on state-owned devices.
Class action lawsuits have also been filed by consumers against Temu in different states. In Illinois, a class action–including minors–alleges that “the app makers lured users with the promise of low-cost goods only to capture and disseminate their private information to unauthorized parties…capturing biometric data, WiFi information, camera access and more, all without users’ consent.” Another class action was filed in New York.
Regarding the class action lawsuits, Temu told the media that it categorically denied the allegations and intended to defend itself vigorously.
