Brake for Temu. The controversial Chinese marketplace, which sells millions of products at discounted prices, has just suspended its “Cash reward” commercial
operation
. This campaign, widely shared on social networks, launched in England for more than a week, offered for a few days in France to benefit from a prize pool of at least 100 euros (part in cash paid to a PayPal account and part in coupons to spend on the site) by downloading the application and clicking on a sponsorship link.
Except that in passing, the beneficiary agreed to sell part of his personal data for life. “We have decided to temporarily remove the program and optimize it based on customer reactions,” a spokesperson told us this Friday, March 29 evening. We are committed to making improvements to ensure clarity and an even better experience for everyone. »
Why is Temu ending its commercial operation?
Despite “great success in France, with many satisfied customers who received rewards for their participation”, according to a spokesperson, the marketplace has suspended its offer until further notice. It must be said that the controversy has grown in recent days, first in England and now in France, around the repurchase of users' personal data. “This proves that the suspicions of espionage around Temu's business model were founded,” said Tom Balbic, marketing director of NordVPN, a VPN provider.
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Already in recent hours, faced with the outpouring of criticism, Temu had made a first backpedal regarding the personal data actually collected. Initially, the offer specified that in exchange for the money received, users agreed to the marketplace using and publishing their “photo, name, voice, opinions, statements, biographical information and/or hometown for promotional purposes or advertising in any media worldwide, now known or hereafter developed, in perpetuity, without further review, notification, payment or consideration.” But a Temu spokesperson ultimately felt that “there has been some confusion regarding the terms and conditions of our
Cash reward
campaign . We certify that we only collect two types of data: username and profile photo.
Is this legal?
“If there is consent, it can be legal,” say those around the Secretary of State for Digital, Marina Ferrari, who call for consumer vigilance when This concerns their personal data. But it remains to be seen whether the information is communicated clearly enough for the user. » It's up to the CNIL, the personal data policeman, who was unable to answer our questions in time, to judge.
What are the risks when reselling your data?
The least serious remains commercial profiling. You may then receive massive amounts of spam, calls or unwanted emails. “If this information falls into the darknet, it can be used for phishing operations,” analyzes Tom Balbic, marketing director of NordVPN. The more information you have about someone, the more credible the scam. Finally, if the Chinese government wants to recover this data to study the opinions and economic behavior of the French, it will have the right to do so. With Temu, we are in total limbo since we don't know where the personal data can go! »