Arkansas Attorney General Has New Legal Counsel Take Over Lawsuit Against Temu

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Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office has new legal counsel overseeing its court battle against Chinese company Temu for allegedly deceiving Arkansans and illegally accessing their personal data.

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

The A.G.’s lawsuit against Temu—first filed in 2024—argues Temu’s app secretly harvests Arkansans’ private information—including precise location, installed apps, online accounts, microphones, and cameras—and funnels it 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 A.G. maintains that all of this is unconscionable under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which carries a penalty of $10,000 per violation.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Matthew Ford was the A.G.’s legal counsel on the case, but Mr. Ford withdrew last year after leaving the A.G.’s office. Earlier this month, Senior Assistant Attorney General Brittany Edwards filed paperwork with the court indicating she would be the attorney of record in the future.

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.

Bad actors like the Chinese Communist Party must not be allowed to secretly harvest Americans’ private data.

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

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

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China Tries to Boost Births by Taxing Contraceptives

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News outlets report that China is trying to raise its birthrate by taxing contraceptives.

For many years, China imposed a one-child policy on its citizens, and the country did not tax contraceptives.

However, China’s population has shrunk three years in a row, and the U.N. projects China will lose 3.2 million people this year — more than the entire population of Arkansas.

To stop the population decline, China has lifted its one-child policy, and last year Beijing announced it would offer parents up to $1,500 per child as an incentive to raise families.

Starting this month, the country will levy a 13% sales tax on contraceptives. Many experts agree that raising the price of contraceptive probably won’t have a meaningful impact on China’s birthrate, but it does underscore how serious China’s situation has become.

Most developed nations are dealing with declining birthrates — including countries like Japan and the U.S. — but not to the same degree as China.

Experts have expressed concern again and again over China’s declining population. In 2020, officials from the Chinese Communist Party said China’s fertility rate had fallen to dangerously low levels. In early 2023, China’s National Bureau of Statistics released data showing the country’s population had begun plummeting.

Without a growing population, it’s difficult for countries to maintain strong communities, a vibrant workforce, or a healthy economy. The Chinese Communist Party spent decades promoting the idea that having fewer children would be good for China, but that simply is not how society works.

Societies thrive off healthy, stable families. That’s part of the reason Family Council has spent more than 36 years promoting, protecting, and strengthening traditional family values in Arkansas. When families succeed, everyone benefits.

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

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China Set to Lose Population Greater Than Arkansas’ by Next Year

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A recent article in Newsweek highlights the dramatic population decline facing China after decades of anti-family policies.

According to U.N. projections, China’s population will shrink by 3.2 million people next year — more than the population of Arkansas — and it is projected to decline by more than 40 million people over the next 10 years — roughly equivalent to the entire population of California.

By 2050, the country could lose a staggering 140 million people.

This is not the first time experts have expressed concern over China’s declining population. In 2020, officials from the Chinese Communist Party said China’s fertility rate had fallen to dangerously low levels. In early 2023, China’s National Bureau of Statistics released data showing the country’s population had begun plummeting.

Most developed nations are dealing with declining birthrates — including countries like Japan and the U.S. — but not to the same degree as China.

Without a growing population, it’s difficult for countries to maintain strong communities, a vibrant workforce, or a healthy economy. The Chinese Communist Party spent decades promoting the idea that having fewer children would be good for China, but that simply is not how society works.

Societies thrive off healthy, stable families. That’s part of the reason Family Council has spent more than 36 years promoting, protecting, and strengthening traditional family values in Arkansas. When families succeed, everyone benefits.

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

READ MORE