The accusation is that customers are seduced for the disclosure of personal data and to generous expenses. The law serves as a legal lever for consumer advocates against unfair competition and the EU Digital Services Act.
The manipulation of customers and their disadvantage are carried out via lucky bikes, competitions, highscore tables, pop-ups, time pressure as well as the hidden approval of advertising and data processing. In addition, there would be discounts that are none after a look at the small print, as well as anti -consumer services. No more than three clicks are necessary for an account at Temu. To delete it, seven steps and a waiting period of one week are needed.
Königsberger-Ludwig: Whoever tricks loses
“Anyone who tricks loses-this also applies to international online ram shops like Temu,” emphasized SP state secretary Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig. Those who do business in Europe have to adhere to European rules. “Even large platforms are not above the law,” she said to the “Standard”.
WiFo expert Michael Böheim sees the possibilities of Austria very limited. He compares the lawsuit with an acupunctor in an elephant. Rigoros against Temu could only be done by the control of imports, in which Asian cheap platforms tried to avoid VAT and customs hurdles. European dealers would also have to offer the platforms with their own business models – “the Austria department store was none,” said the economist.
Amazon unchallenged market leader
Rainer Will, head of the trade association, see an important signal in the procedure of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The main problem, however, is the poor implementation of EU regulations in his opinion. “Although large platforms such as Temu and Shein are subject to the supervision of the EU Commission after their name as” very large online platforms “in accordance with Digital Services Act, they often avoid EU specifications-mostly without consistency,” is annoyed. With a gross star value of more than 340 million euros, Temu is already the fourth largest eCommerce marketplace in Austria.
The undisputed market leader in the Austrian online trade is Amazon with an equivalent of EUR 1.2 billion. Including sales of external dealers via the Amazon marketplace, it is estimated to be 4.3 billion euros. This eliminates 40 percent of all online editions of domestic consumers on the US trading platform, the “E-Commerce Report 2025” of Handelsverband and ECDB emerges. The second largest online retailer in this country is Zalando with a turnover of EUR 387 million.
Source: Nachrichten
