Technology – Family Council

Chinese-Backed Temu has Until End of this Week to Respond to A.G. Griffin’s Deceptive Trade Allegations

Aug 25, 2026Jerry CoxTechnologyBig Tech, Social Media

Online retailer Temu has until the end of this week to respond to Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s consumer protection lawsuit in Cleburne County Court.

Temu is an online shopping platform similar to Amazon or Walmart.com. In 2023, Temu was reported to be the most widely downloaded app in the U.S., and its multibillion-dollar marketing campaign — which included a Super Bowl ad in 2024 — contributed to its success.

But the Chinese-based tech giant has drawn criticism from security and privacy experts who are concerned that Temu does not value users’ privacy or protect sensitive information.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sued Temu in 2024, alleging Temu uses bargain pricing as a lure so the company can secretly harvest users’ private information. The lawsuit alleges Temu’s phone app is able to access users’ precise locations as well as other installed apps, online accounts, microphones, and cameras. The platform can then funnel that sensitive information to computer servers that are subject to Chinese laws.

The A.G.’s lawsuit also alleges that the Temu app is able to bypass phone security systems, potentially granting Temu access to a user’s private messages.

The Arkansas Attorney General’s office says all of this is unconscionable under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which carries a penalty of $10,000 per violation.

Temu’s attorneys asked the judge presiding over the case to dismiss the lawsuit, but the judge presiding over the case denied that motion to dismiss and gave Temu’s attorneys until August 28 to respond to Attorney General’s lawsuit.

The attorney general’s lawsuit against Temu is important, because his arguments in the case are very similar to points the A.G.’s team has made in its separate lawsuits against TikTok — another widely popular internet platform owned by a Chinese company.

Family Council is not aware of any attorney general in America who is doing more to hold tech companies accountable than Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.

As we always say, tech companies are more than just phone apps and websites. These are multibillion-dollar businesses, and the people who operate them have a responsibility to protect the people who use their platforms.

We appreciate Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office for continuing to pursue these cases so seriously in court.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Arkansas Judge Denies Temu’s Motion to Dismiss A.G. Griffin’s Lawsuit

Aug 5, 2026Jerry CoxTechnologyBig Tech, Social Media

An Arkansas judge recently denied a motion by Temu seeking to dismiss Attorney General Tim Griffin’s lawsuit against the online company. Attorneys representing Temu reportedly have until August 28 to respond to the A.G.’s allegations that Temu violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

But as a Chinese-based tech company, security and privacy experts have raised concerns about Temu.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sued Temu in 2024, alleging Temu uses bargain pricing as a lure so the company can secretly harvest users’ private information — including precise location, installed apps, online accounts, microphones, and cameras — and then funnel that sensitive information to servers subject to Chinese laws.

The A.G.’s team has also alleged that the Temu app is able to bypass phone security systems, potentially granting Temu access to a user’s private messages.

The Arkansas Attorney General’s office says all of this is unconscionable under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which carries a penalty of $10,000 per violation.

In response, Temu’s attorneys asked the judge presiding over the case to dismiss the A.G.’s lawsuit. On July 15, Judge Meyer in Little Rock denied that motion to dismiss.

The judge’s order notes that the Attorney General has made specific, factual allegations that Temu’s app is intentionally designed to hide its data collection and that Temu has unjustly enriched itself at the expense of Arkansans.

The judge’s order does not mean Attorney General’s team will win the lawsuit, but it does mean their case is clear to proceed. In a separate order, the judge agreed to give Temu’s attorneys until August 28 to respond to the A.G.’s allegations.

It’s worth pointing out the A.G.’s allegations against Temu are very similar to points the A.G.’s office has made in its lawsuits against TikTok — another widely popular internet platform owned by a Chinese company.

Family Council is not aware of any attorney general in America who is doing more to hold tech companies accountable than Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.

As we always say, tech companies are more than just phone apps and websites. These are multibillion-dollar businesses, and the people who operate them must be held accountable to be sure they do not harm their users.

We appreciate Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office for continuing to pursue these cases so seriously in court.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Family Council Joins Letter Urging Senate Leaders to Protect Kids Online

Jul 30, 2026Jerry CoxTechnologyArtificial Intelligence, Child Welfare, Facebook, Social Media, TikTok, Update

On Thursday, Family Council joined a letter urging leaders in the U.S. Senate to protect children online.

Most teens and young adults are extremely active online. The U.S. Surgeon General says 95% of American teenagers use social media, and about one-third say they use it “almost constantly.” But parents, policymakers, and pundits have raised concerns about the harm that Big Tech can do to kids.

In March, juries in New Mexico and Los Angeles found Facebook and Instagram’s owner, Meta, liable for harming children’s mental health and concealing what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. In June, Reuters reported that Meta had begun lobbying Congress for special immunity from child-harm lawsuits during debate on the Kids Online Safety Act.

Apparently, instead of protecting children, Big Tech would rather avoid accountability.

On Thursday, Family Council joined other pro-family leaders from across the country in a letter urging U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee to be sure federal legislation upholds parental rights and protects children online.

The letter calls on the committee to protect children from addictive technology and reject any proposal to shield tech companies from accountability, writing:

When an addictive or potentially hazardous substance like alcohol, tobacco, or nicotine is in a product, we assist parents by prohibiting marketing of those products to children. In these ways, we require those who are designing, manufacturing, and marketing the product to assist parents, and we hold accountable those who hide known information about potential harm arising from their product. This same principle must apply to the most ubiquitous and addictive products on today’s market . . . Any measure advanced by the committee should build on state efforts to protect children, and any demand to grant preemptive immunity for emerging technology (especially generative AI) in exchange for ratifications of protections on other technologies should be emphatically rejected.

Time and again, we have seen examples of just how harmful social media and artificial intelligence can be for users — especially children.

Social media giant TikTok has found itself embroiled in controversies over its failure to protect private user data from entities in China — including the Chinese Communist Party. In May of 2025, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission fined TikTok $600 million for unlawfully transferring European user data to China.

The platform also has been accused of serving users a steady “diet of darkness” and violating laws intended to protect children online.

Late last year, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sent a strongly worded letter to major AI developers, calling for real safeguards that protect kids.

In a statement, Kobach highlighted a Topeka case in which a sexual predator used AI to create thousands of images depicting child abuse.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has actually sued Facebook and Instagram’s owner, Meta, in state court for endangering children.

The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office has alleged that platforms like Facebook and Instagram are built around algorithms intentionally designed “to exploit human psychology and foster addiction to maximize users’ screen time.” The A.G. says this exploitation is especially harmful for young users with developing brains.

It’s worth pointing out that people believe children deserve protection when it comes to social media.

A recent survey from the Pew Research Center shows most Americans support banning children under 16 from using social media altogether.

Social media and AI platforms are multibillion dollar industries, and the adults who own and profit from these companies have a responsibility to protect their users.

Children deserve proactive protection online. The Arkansas Legislature and Arkansas Attorney General’s office have worked hard to give children that kind of protection. Our federal policymakers need to do their part to as well.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.