The latest class action lawsuit against Temu alleges illegal telemarketing

In her new class action lawsuit against Temu, Phyllis King claims that the company mistakenly interpreted her status on the Robinson List as an invitation to share its dollar deals.

King, a Delaware resident, filed the class action lawsuit on July 3, claiming that despite her being on the federal blacklist, Temu texted her directly four times in April. According to the lawsuit, “the text messages promoted (Temu’s) ‘deals,’ such as items on sale for $1.99 or $1, and asked (King) to visit links to (Temu’s) website.”

King says she never gave Temu explicit written consent to contact her, nor did she provide the company with her phone number. She also says she has no interest in Temu’s products.

“At no time did (King) solicit or request information about (Temu’s) products or services prior to receiving the telemarketing text messages in question,” the complaint states.

King claims that for herself and others similarly situated, receiving text messages or calls from Temu meant that “their privacy was violated and they were subjected to annoying and harassing calls that amounted to harassment.” She further claims that the calls or text messages “occupied the phone lines of (King) and class members, took up their time, and prevented them from receiving legitimate messages.”

A Temu spokesman said the company was sensitive to consumer interests.

“Temu takes consumer protection seriously. We believe the lawsuit is without merit and intend to vigorously defend our interests,” the spokesperson said in an email to Sourcing Journal.

King’s legal counsel claims that Temu’s alleged actions violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TPCA), and said the team’s proposed class action lawsuit would include anyone in the U.S. who is on the Robinson List and has received two or more telemarketing calls or texts from Temu within a 12-month period.

According to King, the number of members of the proposed class “is likely to be at least in the hundreds due to the massive nature of telemarketing calls and text messages.”

King and her attorney are seeking both compensatory damages and an injunction preventing Temu from making future telemarketing communications to people on the block list. The lawsuit proposes that each member of the proposed class should receive approximately $2,000 in damages for each call or text message Temu allegedly made in violation of the TPCA, based on two separate causes of action.

According to court records, Temu has not yet responded to King’s complaint.

The new lawsuit is far from the first outcry from consumers – or governments – over data breaches by the low-cost marketplace platform.

Temu is a defendant in an ongoing class action lawsuit alleging that the company engaged in “deceptive” and “unscrupulous” practices in handling consumers’ data, thereby violating their privacy rights. The company has also been investigated by the South Korean FTC for data breaches and sued by the state of Arkansas for similar privacy-related issues.