Temu Collaborates with Chinese Shenzhen Media... Collecting Foreigners' Data

100 Million Global Users Including the US for 'Temu'
Cooperation with Chinese Communist Party's Official Newspaper 'Renmin Ribao'

China's state-run propaganda media are reportedly collaborating with domestic information technology (IT) companies to collect data on foreigners, according to a report by the US Washington Post (WP) on the 1st (local time).

WP cited a recent report released by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank based in Canberra, Australia, stating that "state-controlled Chinese propaganda agencies are receiving data from shopping and gaming apps with hundreds of millions of users worldwide, including in the US, as well as from Chinese IT companies."

The report analyzed the collusion between more than 1,000 government agencies and private companies, including Chinese state-owned enterprises. It also included details about a contract between the popular e-commerce app Temu, which has over 100 million US users, and the People's Daily Media Group, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. Specifically, the report explained that Pinduoduo, the parent company of Temu, has a partnership with the People's Database (人民數据·People's DB), a data management company affiliated with the People's Daily. The People's DB website introduces Pinduoduo as one of its corporate partners.

Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has strictly controlled information exchange through propaganda unit websites, censorship restrictions, and technological infrastructure. This has allowed early suppression of critical public opinion and timely cultivation of favorable sentiment.

WP pointed out that the People's Daily and its online edition, People.cn, part of the People's Daily Media Group, are at the forefront of this Chinese propaganda strategy. Previously, WP reported that "People.cn has conducted extensive overseas surveillance of Western social networking services (SNS) on behalf of Chinese police and intelligence agencies."

In response to these allegations, Temu denied any relationship with People's DB, stating that it stores US user data on Microsoft's Azure cloud service. Pinduoduo also denied having any data-sharing agreement with People's DB, saying that their cooperation is limited to content distribution such as press releases.

The report also mentioned partnerships between People's DB and China's largest ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing, as well as the state-owned airline Air China. It claimed that "Chinese propaganda authorities are also expanding connections with Chinese gaming, artificial intelligence, and metaverse companies."

Samantha Hoffman, a former senior analyst at ASPI who led the research, advised, "China uses these companies to strategically collect and utilize valuable data not only within China but globally. Understanding and responding well to China's propaganda system will help effectively control its negative impacts."

Meanwhile, on the 24th, US President Joe Biden gave final approval to the TikTok forced sale law, which had passed the US Congress. The forced sale law prohibits TikTok's parent company, China's ByteDance, from operating TikTok in the US if it does not sell its US business rights within 270 days. ByteDance immediately opposed the law and announced plans for a legal battle. Legal experts predict that the TikTok ban law may be challenged by federal courts on grounds of violating freedom of expression and being unconstitutional.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.