Intellectual property concerns Sellers on Temu face recurring accusations of infringing upon intellectual property rights. Instances of design theft have also been reported.
Advertisements In 2023, five Temu ads were banned by the
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK for showing a bikini-wearing girl estimated to be aged eight to eleven in a pose that was "quite adult for her age," jockstraps that emphasised "the outline of the genitalia", cycling shorts that "appeared as underwear" with cut-out bottoms, and pictures of dresses that left out the models' faces. Temu said the picture of the girl violated the company's policy and would not be shown again but disputed the other findings by the ASA, saying not showing models' faces was not meant to objectify women and that other retailers had similar photos. Temu is facing two class action lawsuits in the U.S. over unsolicited texts to numbers on the
National Do Not Call Registry that continued even after recipients replied "stop".
Consumer complaints According to Andrew Chow writing for
Time, in 2022 Temu customers experienced a rash of undelivered packages, product discrepancies due to false advertisements, and mysterious charges, as well as unresponsive customer service. In October 2022, the Boston branch of the
Better Business Bureau opened a file on Temu; by the end of 2022, they had received 31 complaints from customers regarding the website's service. In January 2024 the company has a BBB rating of C+, though the company is not BBB accredited.
Product quality Some merchants use Temu as a clearing house where they attempt to sell off low quality, expired, or outdated products. In August 2024, Seoul authorities discovered that products sold by popular online retailers
Shein, Temu, and
AliExpress contained toxic substances far exceeding legal safety limits. Inspections revealed alarming levels of harmful chemicals, such as
phthalates,
formaldehyde, and
lead, in various items like shoes, hats, toys and nail polish. These substances pose significant health risks, including reproductive harm, carcinogenic effects, and liver poisoning. In response, South Korean officials demanded the removal of these products from sale, while the companies involved initiated internal investigations to enhance their safety compliance measures. In a separate investigation conducted by Toy Industries of Europe (TIE) in early 2024, none of the 19 toys purchased from Temu complied with EU safety regulations, with 18 posing significant risks to children. The toys failed to meet critical safety standards, leading to potential hazards such as choking, strangulation, and chemical exposure. TIE highlighted the ongoing issue of third-party sellers on non-EU platforms, like Temu, who bypass stringent EU safety laws. This prompted calls for stricter enforcement and revision of the Toy Safety Regulation to close legal loopholes and ensure better protection for consumers. In March 2024,
BabyCenter did a review of the app Temu and said that the website had found products that have been recalled, could be counterfeit or circumvent U.S. safety standards and features that are important in preventing issues like choking.
Digital Services Act In May 2024, the
European Consumer Organisation launched a complaint against Temu with the
European Commission alleging breaches of the
Digital Services Act concerning trader traceability requirements and algorithmic transparency and accountability. In October 2024, the European Commission launched an investigation against Temu amid concerns over the sale of illegal and counterfeit products on the platform, the reappearance of previously banned sellers, and the app's
addictive design. In July 2025, the European Commission stated that Temu was breaking EU rules by failing to prevent the sale of illegal products.
Data privacy In May 2023, the
United States–China Economic and Security Review Commission raised concerns about risks to users'
personal data on Temu after Pinduoduo, its sister app in China, was suspended from
Google Play because some of its versions, not available on Google's app store, were found to contain
malware. Two days after releasing an update to remove the exploits, Pinduoduo disbanded the team of engineers and product managers who had developed them. According to a
CNN source, most of the team were transferred to Temu, working in various departments, but a core group of engineers remained at Pinduoduo. On May 17, 2023,
Greg Gianforte, the governor of the US state of
Montana banned Temu on government devices state-wide, along with
ByteDance applications (including
TikTok),
WeChat, and
Telegram. According to
Politico, "
Apple said the company previously violated the company's mandatory privacy rules and misled people about how it uses their data." Separate
class action lawsuits were filed against Temu in 2023, located in Illinois and New York, each in regards to Temu's handling of private data collected via accounts made on their platform. In February 2024, South Korea's
Personal Information Protection Commission launched an investigation into Temu and other e-commerce platforms regarding the handling of user data. In June 2024, the
Arkansas Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Temu alleging malware and deceptive trade practices. A similar lawsuit was filed by the Nebraska Attorney General in June 2025. In December 2025, Arizona attorney general
Kris Mayes sued Temu for consumer data theft and selling counterfeit brands. In January 2026, Texas governor
Greg Abbott prohibited state employees from using Temu on all government devices and networks.
Forced labor concerns In June 2023, the
United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party stated that Temu did not maintain "even the façade of a meaningful compliance program" with the
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act to keep goods made by forced labor off its platform. The committee's report delivered a critical evaluation of Temu, suggesting that there was an "extremely high risk of forced labor contamination within Temu's supply chains." In 2024, Temu faced renewed criticism referring to the 2023 report from US Senator
Tom Cotton, and US House representatives
Kat Cammack and
Michelle Steel after the company aired commercials during
Super Bowl LVIII.
Fake postage labels In 2025, sellers on Temu have faced accusations of using fake U.S. postage labels in an effort to dupe the
United States Postal Service into delivering packages for free.
Anti-trust investigation In October 2025, Germany's
Federal Cartel Office launched an anti-trust investigation into Temu's operations in the country concerning merchant pricing.
Work concerns Temu has been criticized for having an intense workplace culture and encouraging a
996 working hour system. This workplace culture has been connected to incidents of PDD Holdings employee deaths that have made international headlines.
Lawsuits with Shein In December 2022, Temu was sued by rival company
Shein, alleging that Temu had enlisted online influencers "to make false and deceptive statements" about Shein to promote its own goods. Temu later sued Shein in July 2023, alleging that Shein had "engaged in a campaign of threats, intimidation, false assertions of infringement, and attempts to impose baseless punitive fines" on clothing manufacturers thought to be working with Temu. On July 31, 2023, Shein won a temporary
restraining order against Temu in a different case, alleging that the company used Shein's copyrighted images in product listings. Later in August, Shein sought an injunction against Temu, filed in
London's High Court, alleging the company had "identified thousands of instances" where Temu's sellers copied its listing photos. Shein requested all violating posts be taken down and at least £100,000 in damages. On July 18, 2023, Temu filed a federal lawsuit, accusing Shein of violating U.S. antitrust laws. Temu stated in the indictment that as of 2022, Shein owns more than 75% of the U.S. ultra-fast fashion market and leverages its market dominance to compel exclusive agreements with apparel manufacturers, restricting them from collaborating with Temu. In December 2023, Temu sued Shein again, alleging illegal interference with its suppliers. Temu also alleged that Shein “bullied, intimidated, and even detained” suppliers in China as part of a campaign of “mafia-style intimidation”. In August 2024, Shein filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Temu in U.S. federal court.
Tax avoidance In October 2025, Temu attracted criticism for its allegedly "negligible" economic and tax footprint across Europe and the UK.
Subsidies In December 2025, the European headquarters of Temu in Ireland were raided by authorities as part of a foreign subsidy investigation. == See also ==