After TikTok inquiry, Republicans call for investigation into Temu data practices

House Republicans want answers from the FBI and other U.S. agencies about how the popular Chinese online marketplace Temu handles the data of American citizens.

In a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and FBI, members of the Select Committee on Intelligence asked a range of questions about whether investigations are underway examining Temu and its parent company Pinduoduo (PDD).

Committee members said they are “concerned about the protection of Americans data” and compared the company to TikTok, claiming there is a relationship between Temu and the Chinese Communist Party.

“Analogous to Congress’ action on TikTok, the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese national security laws, and Americans data must be understood,” they said.

“We have concerns that the CCP has undertaken yet another attempt to exploit the democracy, free market principles, and the personal and economic data of the United States.”

Temu has been available to Americans since 2022 but grew in prominence after Super Bowl ads in 2023 and 2024. The platform allows Chinese manufacturers to sell directly to buyers at low prices and has faced years of complaints about forced labor, unfair price controls and the popularization of “fast fashion” trends.

Google suspended its parent company Pinduoduo from its app store last year after researchers discovered malware in its app. Experts in China said Pinduoduo was exploiting three vulnerabilities to read data stored on a user’s device and the company has long faced concerns about the data it collects from users. 

Several U.S. citizens sued Temu over its data collection practices in February. 

The letter to the SEC and FBI cites an Ars Technica story about the vulnerabilities and others tying executives at Temu and PDD to the CCP. 

Because PDD is listed on the NASDAQ, the members of Congress want the SEC and FBI to hold a briefing answering several questions about whether these issues have been investigated by either body. 

The committee asked whether the FBI has provided intelligence to the SEC about the data security issues raised about Temu and whether more generally the SEC and FBI collaborate on similar national security issues. 

The calls for greater scrutiny come as Congress has sought multiple inquiries into China’s manufacturing dominance in U.S. markets and the potential national security ramifications of the trend. 

A congressional examination released last week claimed that China placed various technological backdoors into ship-to-shore cranes that could give access to the machines.

In April, President Joe Biden signed a law that sailed through a typically unproductive Congress requiring TikTok be sold or banned by next January due to national security threats. The company has sued to overturn the law.