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The Commission has opened formal proceedings to assess whether Temu (e-commerce app) may have breached the Digital Services Act in areas linked to the sale of illegal products. The DSA is “potentially addictive” to on-line services models using recommend purchases to users and personal-data access facilities, e.g. for researchers. Present decision follows Commission’s preliminary analyses in 2024 of the risk assessment information shared with national authorities under the European Board of Digital Services Coordinators.
Background
Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), designated services with more than 45 million active users in the EU have the obligation to mitigate the risks related to electoral processes, while safeguarding fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of expression.
In cooperation with national Digital Services Coordinators, customs authorities, market surveillance authorities and other relevant third parties, the Commission has already in October 2024 carried out investigation proceedings against Temu.
Present decision follows preliminary analyses of the risk assessment report provided by Temu at the end of September 2024, as well as including replies to the Commission’s formal requests for information in June and October 2024, as well as of information shared by third parties.
The Commission also relied on information shared through the cooperation mechanism with national authorities under the European Board of Digital Services Coordinators, in particular with the Irish Digital Services Coordinator.
The investigation was undertaken according to the principles outlined in the e-commerce rules and in parallel with a separate investigation by the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, as well as “the first product safety sweep, ensuring a comprehensive and coordinated approach to addressing concerns around Temu’s practices”, noted the Commission in a press release.
Source and citation from Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_1913
The steady surge in the volume of products sold online in the EU member states is accompanied by a rise of unsafe, counterfeit and/or non-compliant products, which could be harmful for consumers’ health and safety, the environment and damaging fair competition in the European Digital Single Market.
To counter these risks, the DSA’s text included obligations for e-traders to counter illegal content online. The EU digital service law requires online trading platforms to put in place user-friendly mechanisms allowing users “to flag illegal content” and to appeal to the content’s moderation decision.
The DSA also includes specific rules tailored to online marketplaces, such as “trader’s traceability” to ensure that all online marketplaces gather information on traders selling their products or services. The DSA also prohibits so-called “dark patterns” and specifies rules on advertising and detailed transparency obligations, including how products are recommended to consumers.
More on DSA
In July 2025, the Commission adopted a delegated act on data access under the Digital Services Act; the delegated act enables consumers and researchers to obtain almost unlimited access to the e-trading platforms’ internal data, and in this way contributing to a safer online world.
Then, on 2 July 2025, the Commission published a delegated act outlining rules granting access to data for qualified researchers under the Digital Services Act (DSA). This delegated act enables access to the internal data of very large online platforms (VLOPs) and search engines (VLOSEs) to research the systemic risks and on the mitigation measures in the European Union.
The delegated act on data access clarifies the procedures for VLOPs and VLOSEs to share data with vetted researchers, including data formats and requirements for data documentation. Moreover, the delegated act sets out which information Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs), VLOPs and VLOSEs must make public to facilitate vetted researchers’ applications to access relevant datasets.
With the adoption of the delegated act, the Commission will launch the DSA data access portal where researchers interested in accessing data under the new mechanism can find information and exchange with VLOPs, VLOSEs and DSCs on their data access applications.
More on DSA in: https://www.eu-digital-services-act.com/
Vital legal acts on EU’s digital services
The legislative path to the present regulatory ground in the EU-wide digital background has had a short but turbulent history. Thus, the following steps shall be mentioned:
= the text of the Digital Services Act (DSA), 19 October 2022, in: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R2065&qid=1666857835014;
= the text of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), 14 September 2022, in: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R1925
= Commission Implementing Regulation 2023/1127 of 2 March 2023 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 with the detailed methodologies and procedures regarding the supervisory fees charged by the Commission on providers of very large online platforms and very large online search engines, in: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32023R1127.
= Commission Implementing Regulation 2023/1201 of 21 June 2023 on detailed arrangements for the conduct of certain proceedings by the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Digital Services Act’), in:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2023/1201/oj.
= Commission Implementing Regulation 2024/607 of 15 February 2024, on the practical and operational arrangements for the functioning of the information sharing system pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Digital Services Act’), in: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/607/oj
= Draft delegated Regulation, supplementing Regulation 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council, by laying down rules on the performance of audits for very large online platforms and very large online search engines, in: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13626-Digital-Services-Act-conducting-independent-audits_en.
=Draft Implementing Regulation laying down templates concerning the transparency reporting obligations of providers of intermediary services and of providers of online platforms under Regulation 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council, in: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14027-Digital-Services-Act-transparency-reports-detailed-rules-and-templates-_en.
= Draft Implementing Regulation on the practical and operational arrangements for the functioning of the information sharing system pursuant to Regulation 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘Digital Services Act’), in: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14065-Information-sharing-system-under-the-Digital-Services-Act-implementing-regulation_en.
= On 26 March 2024, the Commission published guidelines under the DSA for the mitigation of systemic risks online for elections, and guidelines on recommended measures to Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines to mitigate systemic risks online that may impact the integrity of elections, with specific guidance for the upcoming European Parliament elections in June.
Source and citations from: https://www.eu-digital-services-act.com/Digital_Services_Act_Links.html
The TEMU company
Temu is a Chinese-owned app that connects buyers directly to manufacturers with no middlemen, which is how it keeps prices so low. The shopping experience is fast, flashy and gamified, packed with flash deals, rewards and pop-up promos that keep people clicking; it is part e-commerce, part app game.
Temu sells about everything: gadgets, clothes, beauty products, kitchen gear, etc. for less than one can expect. The app officially launched in the US in 2022 and has been popular ever since. The e-commerce company is known for extremely low prices and rapid international growth. Its parent company, PDD Holdings, built its flagship business, Pinduoduo, by connecting Chinese farmers with consumers and later expanded to offer a wide range of goods.
Thus, Temu is a legitimate platform owned by PDD Holdings, and it offers products similar to other e-commerce platforms like Shein, Wish and AliExpress. However, there have been complaints about undelivered packages and mysterious charges on credit cards. Since 2022, Temu has spread rapidly in Europe, primarily through aggressive online marketing and extremely low prices. Temu uses standard encryption and complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS); so, payment details are generally protected during checkout; it also supports 3D Secure for an extra layer of verification. Still, since the trading occurs with the third-party sellers, there’s always some risk.
More on TEMU security in: https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/is-temu-safe/
The investigation’s scope
More specifically, the Commission’s investigation will focus on the following areas:
= Whether the Temu company’s system has in place facilities to limit the sale of non-compliant products in the European Union. Among others, it concerns systems designed to limit the reappearance of previously suspended rogue traders, known to have been selling non-compliant products in the past, as well as systems to limit the reappearance of non-compliant goods.
= The risks linked to the addictive design of the service, including game-like reward programs, and the systems Temu has in place to mitigate the risks stemming from such addictive design, which could have negative consequences to a person’s physical and mental well-being.
= The compliance with the DSA obligations linked to how Temu recommends content and products to users. This includes the requirement to disclose the main parameters used in Temu’s recommender systems and to provide users with at least one easily accessible option that is not based on profiling.
= The company’s compliance with the DSA obligation to give researchers access to Temu’s publicly accessible data.
Reference to: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-opens-formal-proceedings-against-temu-under-digital-services-act
Next steps
After the formal opening of proceedings, the Commission will continue to gather evidence, for example by sending additional requests for information to Temu or third parties or conducting monitoring actions or interviews.
The opening of formal proceedings empowers the Commission to take further enforcement steps, including the adoption of a non-compliance decision. The Commission is also empowered to accept commitments made by Temu to remedy the matters subject to the proceeding.
The DSA does not set any legal deadline for bringing formal proceedings to an end. The duration of an in-depth investigation depends on several factors, including the complexity of the case, the extent to which the company concerned cooperates with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of defence.
Moreover, the opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge its outcome or any other proceedings that the Commission may decide to initiate under other articles of the DSA.
Likewise, it does not preclude any prospective enforcement actions which may be taken by national consumer protection authorities of the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network regarding Temu’s compliance with its obligations under Union consumer law. The Commission will continue its efforts to cooperate with national authorities when enforcing the DSA, including through the dedicated working group on Consumers and online marketplaces of the European Board of Digital Services Coordinators.
Similarly, the opening of formal proceedings also does not preclude actions and decisions that may be taken by market surveillance authorities on the basis the General Product Safety Directive (General Product Safety Regulation as of 13/12/2024).
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_5622
More information on the issue in the following Commission’s websites: = EU Official Journal text on the DSA; = Very large online platforms and search engines under the DSA; = The enforcement framework under the Digital Services Act; and = Digital Services Act – Questions and Answers.