The European Union is imposing stricter rules on Chinese online retailer Temu

The European Union (EU) on Friday added Chinese e-commerce group Temu to the list of major online retailers subject to tighter regulation under the EU’s new Digital Services Act (DSA), according to an EU official.

Thanks to its lowest price strategy, it is making rapid progress in Europe and has become the 24th website, alongside Amazon, Shein and Zalando, to be subjected to extremely stringent regulations by EU authorities aimed at protecting consumers from illegal content. The information was provided to AFP by an anonymous source.

Ago is the international incarnation of Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, founded in 2015 and selling a wide range of products including clothing, toys, home decor, DIY tools, electronics, high-tech gadgets and more.

The app, which has over 75 million monthly users in the EU, was recently accused by various consumer associations of manipulating web users and violating several DSA regulations. According to the European Union of Consumers’ Association (BEUC), which filed a complaint with the European Commission, Temu uses deceptive interfaces called “dark patterns” to trick customers into spending more.

In February, the DSA imposed new obligations on all online platforms to better protect users from illegal content. He will have to adapt to the new rules by the end of September.
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Violators of DSA rules can be fined up to 6% of their annual global revenues or even banned from doing business in Europe.