Chinese shopping app Temu wows US amid TikTok fears

WASHINGTON, United States - Shopping online at Temu, Laurie Silva paid just $1.25 for earrings and $15 for a cardigan -- she is among millions of US consumers the Chinese platform is wooing with low-cost bargains and a dizzying array of products.

Temu topped US app download rankings in early April, a spot it held since January, but its rapid rise comes as platforms with links to China face growing scrutiny and when a ban on youth favorite TikTok appears increasingly inevitable.

According to Sensor Tower data, some of the most popular platforms downloaded in the US currently have Chinese roots, including TikTok, video-editor CapCut and fashion upstart Shein.

Temu is positioned as an Amazon-like superstore, selling everything from make-up to homeware and electronics, and its quiet launch last September marked Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo's first foray into the US market.

Based out of a Boston office block, Temu's out-of-the-blue success makes it the second Chinese-made shopping app -- after Gen Z darling Shein -- to make a splash in America in recent years.

"I've seen so many things in their catalog... offered on Amazon and other online retailers for much more," Silva, a 65-year-old in California, told AFP.

She has placed around 20 orders on Temu, buying craft supplies, jewelry and gifts.

Another customer, 38-year-old Stephanie Wolfe, said she first bought items like eyeliner and jewelry to test the service in January.

"It got here so quick, I couldn't believe it," she said. "Once I realized it was legit, I just started ordering more."

Fueling the frenzy were Temu's commercial spots during the Super Bowl in February that asked more than 100 million US viewers to "shop like a billionaire."

"I was like: 'Oh that's what I use!' Since then I've noticed it's gaining more traction," said Wolfe.

According to Sensor Tower, Temu has had 33 million US downloads since its launch, with user numbers surging on the month of the Super Bowl, the most-watched TV event in the US.

CHINA CONNECTIONS

The rise of Shein and Temu comes as leading US fashion companies seek to reduce their exposure to China with worries intensifying over growing US-China tensions, said Sheng Lu, a professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware.

Both brands primarily source their products from China and Temu mostly ships its goods directly from there as well, he added, contrasting this against Amazon's US-based distribution centers.

This allows Temu to tap China's strengths in producing apparel in greater varieties with greater flexibility -- all while qualifying for US waivers on import duties for lower value shipments, Lu said.

A recent notice for Shein suppliers in China seen by AFP requires turnaround times of just seven to 18 days on factory orders.

For Shein in particular, artificial intelligence and big data play a "critical role" in its expansion and success, Lu said.

"Shein has utilized data collected from its apps and other social media channels to gain insights into consumers' shopping habits and lifestyles, enabling the company to offer in-demand items," he added.

FAST FASHION SCRUTINY

But the ascent of Chinese apps have been accompanied by scrutiny that Temu may too have to grapple with.

In 2021, non-governmental group Public Eye found that some workers behind Shein's breakneck production toil for 11 to 13 hours a day.

It has also come under fire for generating fast fashion waste and apologized for products like a swastika necklace in 2020.

"Additionally, similar to the case of TikTok, Shein and Temu's rapid expansion in the US has resulted in the collection of vast amounts of personal data from American consumers," said Lu of the University of Delaware.

TikTok faces a potential US ban amid allegations that its data haul amounts to a national security threat and that its algorithm poses a danger to mental health.

So far, Temu and Shein have avoided the fate of TikTok, whose CEO faced a brutal hearing in US Congress last month, with unanimous accusations by lawmakers that the social media app was a threat to America.

Georgia Institute of Technology professor Milton Mueller downplayed the danger of shared data, arguing that "the nationality of the company is a very crude and nationalistic criterion" in assessing security threats.

A research paper co-authored by Mueller released in January concluded that "data collected by TikTok can only be of espionage value if it comes from users who are intimately connected to national security functions and use the app in ways that expose sensitive information."

"These risks arise from the use of any social media app," the paper said.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of US consumers shrug off security concerns.

But Wolfe said she uses virtual private networks and makes payments through PayPal for added layers of security.

"Because I'm taking precautions, I'm not worried," she said.

Agence France-Presse

Australia bans TikTok on government devices

SYDNEY — Australia said Tuesday it will ban TikTok on government devices, joining a growing list of Western nations cracking down on the Chinese-owned app due to national security fears.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the decision followed advice from the country's intelligence agencies and would begin "as soon as practicable".

Australia is the last member of the secretive Five Eyes security alliance to pursue a government TikTok ban, joining its allies the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.

France, the Netherlands and the European Commission have made similar moves.

Dreyfus said the government would approve some exemptions on a "case-by-case basis" with "appropriate security mitigations in place".

Cyber security experts have warned that the app -- which boasts more than one billion users -- could be used to hoover up data that is then shared with the Chinese government.

Fergus Ryan, an analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said stripping TikTok from government devices was a "no-brainer".

"It's been clear for years that TikTok user data is accessible in China," Ryan told AFP.

"Banning the use of the app on government phones is a prudent decision given this fact."

Ryan said Beijing would likely "perceive it as unfair treatment of and discrimination against a Chinese company".

The security concerns are underpinned by a 2017 Chinese law that requires local firms to hand over personal data to the state if it is relevant to national security.

Beijing has denied these reforms pose a threat to ordinary users.

China "has never and will not require companies or individuals to collect or provide data located in a foreign country, in a way that violates local law", foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in March.

'ROOTED IN XENOPHOBIA' 

TikTok has said such bans were "rooted in xenophobia", while insisting that it is not owned or operated by the Chinese government.

The company's Australian spokesman Lee Hunter said it "would never" give data to the Chinese government.

"No one is working harder to make sure this would never be a possibility," he told Australia's Channel Seven.

But the firm acknowledged in November that some employees in China could access European user data, and in December it said employees had used the data to spy on journalists.

The app is used to share short, lighthearted videos and has exploded in popularity in recent years.

Many government departments were initially eager to use TikTok as a way to connect with a younger demographic that is harder to reach through traditional media channels.

New Zealand banned TikTok from government devices in March, saying the risks were "not acceptable in the current New Zealand Parliamentary environment".

Earlier this year, the Australian government announced it would be stripping Chinese-made CCTV cameras from politicians' offices due to security concerns.

Agence France-Presse

TikTok chief faces US Congress as lawmakers mull ban

WASHINGTON — TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will fight for the survival of the hugely popular video-sharing app in the United States on Thursday, as he faces skeptical Washington lawmakers over the company's alleged ties to the Chinese government.

The 40-year-old Singaporean will address the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee at 10:00 am (1400 GMT) and endure hours of serious grilling by both Republicans and Democrats who fear that Beijing could subvert the site for spying or to promote propaganda.

Tiktok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is under immense pressure across Western countries, with government officials in the United States, at the EU commission, as well as the UK and Canada forced to delete the app from their devices.

British broadcaster BBC on Tuesday advised its staff to remove TikTok from their phones.

TikTok's gravest threat is from the United States, where the administration of President Joe Biden has set an ultimatum that the company either dump its Chinese ownership or face an outright ban.

A ban would be an unprecedented act on a media company by the US government, cutting off 150 million monthly users in the country from an application that has become a cultural powerhouse -- especially for young people -- and the nation's most viewed source of entertainment after Netflix.

"Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country," Chew will say, according to prepared remarks released ahead of the House committee hearing.

"TikTok has never shared, or received a request to share, US user data with the Chinese government. Nor would TikTok honor such a request if one were ever made," Chew will add in his opening statement on Thursday.

Despite his assurances, the cards in Washington seemed to be dealt against Chew, with several pieces of legislation, including one bill backed by the White House, already paving the way for a ban of the app.

"Americans deserve to know the extent to which their privacy is jeopardized and their data is manipulated by ByteDance-owned TikTok’s relationship with China," Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said.

"What's worse, we know Big Tech companies, like TikTok, use harmful algorithms to exploit children for profit and expose them to dangerous content online," added the Republican.

'STOP SUPPRESSING' 

In the final months of his term, former president Donald Trump also attempted to ban the app, but his effort was ultimately blocked by a US judge.

During that battle, a potential sale to Microsoft or spinoff to Oracle never got off the ground due to the opposition of China.

Beijing last week urged Washington to "stop unreasonably suppressing" TikTok and said the United States has no evidence that TikTok threatens US national security.

In a TikTok post earlier this week, Chew asked US users to defend their favorite app by sharing "what you love" about the platform with elected representatives.

On Wednesday, a group of around a dozen teenagers, teachers and business owners rallied at the US Capitol to express their opposition to a potential ban. 

"Are there other platforms out there? Absolutely -- I'm on them. But none of them have the reach that TikTok has," aspiring soapmaking entrepreneur @countrylather2020 told her 70,000 followers in a video recorded after she arrived in Washington.

A sale, even if all parties agreed, would be very complicated. 

The success of the platform is due to its powerful recommendation algorithm, and "separating the algorithm between TikTok and ByteDance is like a Siamese twins operation," analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush told AFP.

TikTok still hopes to appease the authorities.

Chew's testimony will promote the company's elaborate plan -- known as Project Texas -- to satisfy national security concerns in which the handling of US data will be ring-fenced into a US-run division.

He will tell the lawmakers that TikTok has already spent $1.5 billion on the project and hired 1,500 US-based staff to launch it.

Agence France-Presse

Canadian privacy regulators launch TikTok probe

MONTREAL, Canada — Canadian privacy protection regulators said that they have launched an investigation into TikTok over its use and collection of users' personal information.

The Chinese-owned platform is under growing Western scrutiny, and Canada's move came just hours after the European Commission banned the app from all employees' work devices to "protect" the institution.

Canada's Office of the Privacy Commissioner said it had launched a joint probe into TikTok alongside provincial privacy regulators from Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta.

The investigation was initiated "in the wake of now-settled class-action lawsuits in the United States and Canada, as well as numerous media reports related to TikTok's collection, use and disclosure of personal information," a statement said.

The probe aims to establish "whether the organization's practices are in compliance with Canadian privacy legislation."

The privacy regulators said many of the social network's users are younger, and there is a greater "importance of protecting children's privacy."

The massively popular video-sharing platform, owned by Chinese giant ByteDance, has come under increasing scrutiny from the West over concerns that Beijing could access user data from around the world.

The US Congress passed a ban on downloading TikTok for most government devices, which President Joe Biden signed in late December, and momentum is building among lawmakers to broaden it even further.

Relations between China and Canada have deteriorated sharply in recent years, particularly after Canada arrested Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States in 2018.

Agence France-Presse

TikTok tops Facebook as most downloaded app of 2020

TikTok was the world's most downloaded app last year, overtaking Facebook and its messaging platforms, market tracker App Annie said Tuesday.

The Chinese-owned video app surged in popularity despite efforts by former president Donald Trump to ban it or force a sale to US-based investors, according to the research firm.

TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, is believed to have one billion users worldwide including more than 100 million in the United States, and its short-form videos are especially popular with young smartphone users. 

US President Joe Biden in June revoked executive orders from his predecessor seeking to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat from US markets on national security concerns but ordered a review of the potential risks of foreign-owned internet services. 

While political debate about the video-snippet sharing sensation roiled, TikTok climbed from the fourth most downloaded app in 2019 to the top spot last year, according to App Annie data.

On the way, TikTok stepped over Facebook and two of the US internet giants texting apps Messenger and WhatsApp, the market tracker determined.

TikTok's popularity has prompted Facebook-owned Instagram to add video features to ride the hot trend.

Meanwhile TikTok last month began letting users post videos up to three minutes in length, tripling the prior cap to stay ahead of competitors.

Facebook has argued that the surge in TikTok's popularity undercuts claims from antitrust enforcers in the United States that the California group dominates social networking.

Agence France-Presse

TikTok teen star shot dead at US cinema

TikTok star Anthony Barajas has died after being shot at a California movie theater in what authorities described as a "random and unprovoked" attack.

Barajas, 19, died Saturday after the shooting that also killed his 18-year-old friend Rylee Goodrich, said police in Corona in southern California said.

The victims were shot Monday at a theater that was showing "The Forever Purge," about a totalitarian government that one night a year allows any crime to be committed, including murder.

Theater staff found the two shot in the head after the movie, which was sparsely attended. Goodrich died at the scene and Barajas was rushed to a hospital. 

"Based on the evidence provided to our office, this appears to be a random and unprovoked attack," local prosecutors said in a statement Friday. 

Joseph Jimenez, 20, has been charged in the shooting. Police acting on tips from witnesses arrested him at his home the day after the assault.

Police have said he apparently acted alone and did not know the victims.

Barajas had nearly 930,000 followers on TikTok and was a reportedly a standout soccer player in high school.

The United States has a long and painful history of deadly gun violence, in the form of a steady daily toll of shootings as well as high-profile mass killings that have targeted schools, workplaces and shopping centers. 

In 2012, a heavily armed man killed 12 people in a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, during the screening of the movie "The Dark Knight Rises".

Agence France-Presse

TikTok hit with consumer law breaches complaints across Europe

BRUSSELS - Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok was hit with multiple complaints from EU consumer groups on Tuesday for allegedly violating the bloc's consumer laws and for failing to protect children from hidden advertising and inappropriate content.

Owned by China's ByteDance, TikTok has been rapidly growing in popularity around the world, particularly among teenagers. It faces growing criticism about its privacy and safety policies following a number of incidents.

European consumer group BEUC cited several issues in its complaint, among them its terms of service.

"They are unclear, ambiguous and favor TikTok to the detriment of its users. Its copyright terms are equally unfair as they give TikTok an irrevocable right to use, distribute and reproduce the videos published by users, without remuneration," it said.

It said the company's virtual item policy where users can purchase coins to use for virtual gifts for TikTok celebrities whose performance they like, contains unfair terms and misleading practices.

"TikTok fails to protect children and teenagers from hidden advertising and potentially harmful content on its platform," BEUC said.

The company's practices for the processing of users' personal data are misleading, it said.

In addition to BEUC's complaint, consumer organizations in 15 countries have alerted their authorities and urged them to act.

"We're always open to hearing how we can improve, and we have contacted BEUC as we would welcome a meeting to listen to their concerns," a TikTok spokesman said.

The company said it has developed an in-app summary of its privacy policy to make it easier for teens to understand its stand on privacy. 

-reuters

US to ban TikTok downloads, WeChat use

WASHINGTON - The United States on Friday ordered a ban on downloads of popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok and use of the messaging and payment platform WeChat, saying they threaten national security.

The move, to be implemented Sunday, comes amid rising US-China tensions and efforts by the Trump administration to engineer a sale of TikTok to American investors.

"The Chinese Communist Party has demonstrated the means and motives to use these apps to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the US," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

The initiative would ban WeChat, an app with massive use among Chinese speakers, and TikTok from the online marketplaces operated by Apple and Google.

But while WeChat will effectively be shut down from Sunday in the US, existing TikTok user will be able to continue using the app until Nov. 12 -- when it would also face a full ban on its US operations.

But the Commerce Department said if national security concerns over TikTok were resolved before then, the order may be lifted.

TikTok's brand of brief, quirky videos made on users' cellphones has become hugely popular, especially among young people.

The plan follows through on a threat by President Donald Trump, who has claimed Chinese tech operations may be used for spying, and it ramps up the pressure on TikTok parent ByteDance to conclude a deal to sell all or part of TikTok to allay US security concerns.

A deal which appeared to be taking shape would allow Silicon Valley giant Oracle to become the tech partner for TikTok, but some US lawmakers have objected to allowing ByteDance to keep a stake.

The ban on WeChat, owned by Chinese giant Tencent, has the potential for disrupting the widely used social media and financial application.

US officials said in a recent court filing they would not target those using WeChat for ordinary personal communications.

Agence France-Presse

TikTok CEO resigns amid US pressure to sell video app

HONG KONG (AP) — TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigned Thursday amid U.S. pressure for its Chinese owner to sell the popular video app, which the White House says is a security risk.

In a letter to employees, Mayer said that his decision to leave comes after the “political environment has sharply changed.”

His resignation follows President Donald Trump’s order to ban TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells its U.S. operations to an American company within 90 days.

“I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for,” he said in the letter. “Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company.”

Bytedance is currently in talks with Microsoft for the U.S. firm to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations.

Mayer, a former Disney executive, joined TikTok as CEO in May.

TikTok thanked Mayer.

“We appreciate that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed what the scope of Kevin’s role would be going forward, and fully respect his decision,” the company said in a statement.

Temporarily replacing him is TikTok’s U.S. general manager, Vanessa Pappas, who said Thursday on Twitter she is “incredibly proud and humbled to take the role of interim head of TikTok.” Pappas, who previously worked at Google’s YouTube, has been TikTok’s most visible defender against the Trump actions this summer.

ByteDance launched TikTok in 2017, then bought Musical.ly, a video service popular with teens in the U.S. and Europe, and combined the two. A twin service, Douyin, is available for Chinese users.

TikTok gained immense popularity through its fun, goofy videos and ease of use, and has hundreds of millions of users globally.

But its Chinese ownership has raised concerns about potential censorship of videos, including those critical of the Chinese government, and the risk Beijing may access user data.

Earlier this month, Trump ordered a sweeping but unspecified ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of consumer apps TikTok and WeChat as the U.S. heightens scrutiny of Chinese technology companies, citing concerns that they may pose a threat to national security.

Associated Press

Twitch releases karaoke game ‘Twitch Sings’

Developed by the studio behind “Rock Band” and “Dance Central” franchises, live-streamed karaoke game “Twitch Sings” lets Twitch channel hosts sing solo or as part of a coordinated duet.

“Twitch Sings”, a free karaoke game designed for Amazon’s streaming platform Twitch, lets singers appear as themselves, using their setup’s camera feed, or as an animated avatar, and sing to an audience that can cheer them on or tip them in response.

The curtain's up and the stage is yours. Twitch Sings is now available to everyone: https://t.co/WXUdijDKhB pic.twitter.com/jOYgjSOhI6

— Twitch (@Twitch) April 13, 2019

Viewers can make song requests and set challenges, and they can trigger virtual lighting, stage and crowd effects through the use of emotes, the virtual Twitch currency called Bits and channel subscriptions and monetary donations.

While solo performances are live, duets are made with a bit more behind-the-scenes planning. One Twitch streamer is required to record their part and then send it to the other streamer, who will record their part. The “Twitch Sings” app, a program for Windows personal computers (PCs), will then blend the two streamers’ voices together.

“Twitch Sings” had been in a beta testing phase since shortly after its announcement at TwitchCon in October 2018. It launched at TwitchCon Europe over the weekend.

The karaoke game comes after Chinese smartphone app “TikTok” spent 2018 attracting a worldwide community of users who would upload short music-oriented videos that could be shared among friends and fans both on “TikTok” and elsewhere.

Following March’s virtual reality beat shooter “Audica” and April’s “Twitch Sings”, Harmonix is to release a virtual reality (VR) edition of choreography game “Dance Central” across the Oculus line of headsets in the near future, with Oculus to feature during the April 30 and May 1 F8 Connect conference run by parent company Facebook. CE/MKH

source: technology.inquirer.net