Brake for Temu. A controversial Chinese marketplace that sells millions of items at discounted prices has just suspended commerce under its Cash Rewards program. (monetary reward). The campaign, widely shared on social media, launched in England over a week and was offered for several days in France to win a prize fund of at least €100 (partly in cash to a PayPal account and partly in the form of coupons to spend on the site) by downloading the app and following the sponsorship link.
Unless, along the way, 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 response,” a spokesperson told us this Friday, March 29, evening. We’re committed to making improvements to provide clarity and an even better experience for everyone. »
Why is Temu ceasing commercial activities?
Despite “great success in France, where many satisfied customers received rewards for participating,” according to a spokesperson, the marketplace has suspended its offering until further notice. It must be said that in recent days a controversy has flared up, first in England and now in France, around the ransom of users’ personal data. “This proves that suspicions of espionage around Temu’s business model were well founded,” said Tom Balbic, chief marketing officer of NordVPN, a VPN provider.
Already in recent hours, faced with a torrent of criticism, Temu took a step back for the first time regarding the personal data actually collected. The proposal originally stated that in exchange for money received, users agree to the use and publication on the marketplace of their “photo, name, voice, opinions, statements, biographical information and/or hometown for advertising purposes or for advertising in any media worldwide, are now known or hereafter developed, in perpetuity, without further review, notice, payment or consideration.” But ultimately Temu’s spokesman said there was “some confusion about the terms of our campaign.” Cash rewards. We confirm that we only collect two types of information: username and profile photo.
It is legal?
“If there is consent, it can be legal,” say those around Digital Minister Marina Ferrari, who are urging consumers to be vigilant when it comes to their personal data. But it remains to be seen whether the information will be conveyed clearly enough to the user. “The judge will have to be the CNIL, the personal data police officer, who could not answer our questions in time.
What are the risks of reselling your data?
Commercial profiling remains the least serious. After this, you may receive a huge amount of spam, calls or unwanted emails. “If this information ends up on the dark web, it could be used for phishing scams,” analyzes Tom Balbick, NordVPN’s director of marketing. 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 Tema we are in complete uncertainty because we don’t know where personal data might go! »
Source: Le Parisien
I am John Casanova. I am an author at 24 news recorder and mostly cover economy news. I have a great interest in the stock market and have been writing about it for many years. I am also interested in real estate and have written several articles on the subject. I am a very experienced investor and have a lot of knowledge to share with others.
