Temu has changed the terms of an offer of cash gifts after several customers raised concerns about the privacy of their personal data, the BBC reports.
Trap offer for TEMU customers – Photo Shutterstock
More specifically, Chinese merchant Temu was offering up to £50 to those who agreed to permanently hand over considerable amounts of personal data.
After stating that they are “standard terms and conditions“, Temu company “adjusted” terms because they were “too wide“.
However, the UK's data watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office, which looked into concerns about the Temu offer, said that “will continue to look into the concerns raised“.
Launched in 2022 in the US and in 2023 in the UK, Temu also has numerous customers in Romania. Retail experts have described the app as a kind of “Amazon on steroids”, it attracts many customers by selling products at very low prices.
Over time, the company received numerous criticisms, and a US government investigation found a “extremely high risk” that the products on Temu were made by forced labor.
Trap offer
Specifically, new users of the online shopping app had 24 hours to share a link to other people to sign up on Temu. They were promised between £40 and £50, either in their PayPal accounts or as credits for shopping on Temu. And those who already had an account could participate in this promotion. Thus, the links were widely shared on social networks.
But by agreeing to the terms and conditions of the offer, customers were selling their personal data to the Chinese company. More specifically, Temu was obtaining consent to use and publish “photograph, name, image, voice, opinions, statements, biographical information and/or city and state of origin” for advertising or promotional purposes, BBC journalists write. Moreover, this could happen for any kind of media worldwide, over an indefinite period of time.
Basically, the voice, face, name and other collected data could be used to make deepfake videos, to promote advertising or even propaganda campaigns.
After several people pointed out the campaign rules, Temu changed the terms and conditions “to clarify that we use usernames and profile pictures in this promotion only for referral functionality and winner notification“.
“The previous terms and conditions were too broad and inadvertently included promotional uses that Temu does not do. Customer trust and satisfaction is at the heart of Temu, and we do not and will not sell customer data.“, the company added.
Previously, a representative of the online shopping company had mentioned that such practices are common in the field of online commerce.
“If these standard terms and conditions for standard promotional activities are newsworthy, then we urge you to be fair and report their use by other companies instead of identifying Temu”the company had previously submitted.
Safety in the online environment
The experts, in turn, expressed concern about the terms of the offer.
“These offers are going viral on social media, including for young people, but consumers should definitely think about whether they are comfortable giving away this sensitive data in exchange for money“says Lisa Webb, consumer law expert
The data regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office, previously said it was “labreast of reports about Temu” and that “take into account the concerns expressed“. And after Temu's rule changes, he added:
“Organizations must be clear and transparent about how and why they collect and use people's personal information and ensure that they can make a fully informed decision about handing over their data. We are aware of the reports about Temu and subsequent updates to the terms and conditions and continue to consider the concerns raised.”
Concerns about the collection of data from the online environment are increasingly present. Temu is not the only Chinese company accused of using customer data. And the security of the TikTok app is being questioned in many countries, with some states no longer allowing the platform to be used on government devices. Experts fear that user data may end up in the hands of the Chinese.
