FRANKFORT, KY (July 17, 2025) – Attorney General Russell Coleman announced today the filing of a lawsuit against Temu, the Chinese online shopping platform, for unlawful data collection, violations of customers’ privacy and counterfeiting some of Kentucky’s most iconic brands.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Woodford County Circuit Court, alleging the Temu app is about much more than cheap goods offered at bargain-basement prices.
The complaint alleges that Temu:
- Illegally collects users’ data without their knowledge and consent;
- Allows unfettered access of that data to the Chinese Communist government;
- Steals the intellectual property of U.S.-owned companies, including some of Kentucky’s most iconic brands including the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Buffalo Trace Distillery and Churchill Downs; and
- Uses forced labor from Chinese ethnic minorities in clear violation of U.S. trade policies.
Temu has risen in popularity to become the most-downloaded mobile app in the U.S. in 2023. According to the lawsuit, those behind the app have used that new-found popularity to collect massive quantities of information about customers, all without their knowledge or consent.
Temu is owned by a multibillion-dollar Chinese holding company, PDD Holdings, whose first retail app, Pinduoduo, was eventually banned from U.S. app stores for being malware. The Temu app shares a significant amount of its code with the original Pinduoduo app and has a documented relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.
“Temu’s cheap products and flashy marketing hide real danger. Their platform can infect Kentuckians’ devices with malware, steal their personal data and send it directly to the Chinese government,” said Attorney General Coleman. “At the same time, they’re eroding trust in some of Kentucky’s most iconic brands, which could lead to job losses and hardship. Kentuckians need a strong defense against this aggression, and that’s exactly what the Attorney General’s Office intends to do.”
In addition to the misuse of Kentuckians’ personal information, the lawsuit says Temu is notorious for all sorts of other consumer fraud, from advertising items that look nothing like the items that eventually arrive, to faking customer reviews, to using consumer payment information to order items the customer never asked for.
The Attorney General’s Division Chief for Consumer and Senior Protection Chris Lewis led the Commonwealth’s effort, along with Executive Director of the Office of Regulatory Relief Stephen Humphress and Assistant Attorney General Lyndsey Antos.
Read the Attorney General’s complaint here.
See links to photos from the Attorney General’s complaint.
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