Attorney General Ken Paxton is escalating his campaign against China‑linked tech companies, filing a new lawsuit targeting one of the most downloaded shopping apps in the United States, Temu.
Paxton’s suit names PDD Holdings, Inc. and WhaleCo Inc., the companies behind Temu, alleging they deceptively market the platform as a simple discount marketplace while secretly using it as a vehicle for aggressive data harvesting.
Though PDD moved its principal executive offices from Shanghai to Dublin, Ireland, it still maintains significant operations in China, and Temu has rapidly grown to more than 80 million active users in the United States as of late 2023.
According to the lawsuit, the Temu app is not just a shopping tool—it runs “dangerous software functions” that are “completely inappropriate” for a normal e‑commerce platform.
Paxton characterizes Temu as a digital “trojan horse” capable of bypassing security protocols and creating backdoor access into a user’s private data, all while presenting itself as a harmless way to buy “affordable great products.”
The attorney general alleges that when Texans use Temu, they are unknowingly exposing themselves to a serious digital security threat.
The suit claims Temu quietly scoops up vast amounts of user information and routes that data to servers in China, where it is ultimately exposed to the Chinese Communist Party.
“Temu is Chinese Communist spyware disguised as a shopping app,” Paxton said, accusing the company of exploiting Texans by turning them into the product while hiding the true nature of its data practices.
He argues that Texans deserve transparency and that foreign adversaries should not be allowed to mine their personal data under the guise of bargain shopping.
Paxton is bringing the case under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, arguing that Temu’s marketing and disclosures mislead consumers about what the app does and how it handles their information. By advertising itself as a low‑cost retailer without clearly revealing the breadth and destination of its data collection, Temu is accused of engaging in deceptive trade practices.
The lawsuit asks the court to halt the alleged misconduct and impose financial penalties.
Under the DTPA, the state can seek up to $10,000 per violation—and as much as $250,000 per violation when the illegal conduct targets Texans aged 65 or older, a group Paxton notes is often more vulnerable to tech‑related scams and privacy abuses.
This is Paxton’s fourth lawsuit in three days aimed at companies he says are aligned with or exposed to the Chinese Communist Party.
Earlier this week, he filed separate suits against TP‑Link, alleging it allowed CCP access to Americans’ devices; Anzu Robotics, which he says is selling “Trojan horse” drones tied to DJI; and Lorex, accused of hiding Chinese military‑linked components in baby monitors and home security cameras.
Paxton has framed the rapid‑fire series of lawsuits as a coordinated effort to “hold China accountable under Texas law” and to use state consumer‑protection tools to push back against CCP‑linked technology.
Temu did not respond to Texas Scorecard’s request for comment before publication.
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