Iowa
Iowa attorney general sues Temu, alleging deceptive sales, data theft
Temu sued by Oklahoma AG over alleged deceptive practices
Oklahoma AG sues Temu, alleging illegal data harvesting, deceptive practices and counterfeit Oklahoma merchandise.
Online retailer Temu has sold cheap and counterfeit goods, used underhanded marketing tactics and lied about when and how it takes customers’ data, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says.
Bird is suing the China-based retail giant, accusing it of numerous violations of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act. Temu, which has aggressively been promoted in the United States under its “Shop like a Billionaire” tagline, competes with Amazon and other online retailers and operates online marketplaces for third-party sellers.
The lawsuit, filed July 1, cites years of complaints to the Attorney General’s Office, Better Business Bureau and other watchdog groups about the quality and reliability of Temu shopping, with reports often citing purchased merchandise that bear little resemblance to the photos of items offered for sale.
Those complaints are just the tip of the iceberg, Bird alleges. Her suit accuses Temu of dishonest pricing practices, such as labeling items for sale despite listing them at their normal price. Temu also allegedly uses “gamification” tricks to encourage users to make purchases, sign up their friends on Temu, and other actions, but often fails to deliver on the promised benefits, it says.
In some cases, the company is accused of simply fabricating sales. “Numerous” Iowans have reported receiving and being charged for Temu packages they never ordered and were unable to return, the complaint alleges.
The company also has lied about its business practices in other ways, including covering up its use of forced labor to manufacture many of the items it sells, Bird claims.
App allegedly violates data privacy laws
Temu isn’t just angling to make a sale, Bird claims. She also accuses the company of vacuuming up customers’ private data, even hiding code in the company’s mobile apps to bypass users’ cell phone security and collect private data without their consent.
The complaint states that forensic experts retained by Iowa found the app collects data far beyond what might be necessary to complete transactions, conceals its exfiltration of sensitive data and “reconfigures itself even after having been downloaded to a user’s phone” without consent.
Much of this echoes code previously found in Pinduoduo, another e-commerce app owned by the same Chinese conglomerate, which was banned from the Google Play store in 2023 due to malware concerns. Many of those programmers, and much of the banned code, has been transferred to the Temu app, Bird claims.
Iowa Wave among fake merch sold on Temu
Temu often has been accused of violating intellectual property laws, and those practices have directly affected Iowa, Bird claims. The complaint includes examples of unauthorized University of Iowa, Iowa Wave and Dowling Catholic clothing.
Bird notes in her complaint that a portion of sales of authentic Iowa Wave merchandise goes to benefit pediatric cancer patients and others at the Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
Iowa businesses and sellers on other marketplaces also have reported Temu stealing their branding and in some cases simply copying their product photos and descriptions to market unauthorized products.
Iowa joins several states, including Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska, that have filed consumer protection lawsuits against Temu in recent months. Temu did not respond to a message seeking comment.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
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A 14-year-old Dyersville girl has died from injuries caused by a watercraft collision on Clear Lake on the 4th of July.
The crash involved five people in two personal watercrafts and occurred around 5:30 p.m. near the McIntosh Woods State Park boat ramp on a part of the lake called Little Lake, according to a release from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Passengers on a nearby pontoon immediately helped the victims before the Iowa DNR water patrol and conservation officers, Ventura and Clear Lake fire departments, Iowa State Patrol, Clear Lake Police Department and the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office came on scene.
The release does not give the names of the four children involved.
A 35-year-old woman, an 11-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, all from Greenwood, South Carolina, were treated at the Mercy-One Medical Center in Mason City and released on July 4. A 15-year-old Mason City girl was transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and is in serious condition.
While the investigation is ongoing, Iowa DNR officers have ruled out alcohol or other impairments as contributing factors to the crash, the release states.
Isabelle Foland is a communities reporter for the Register. Reach her at ifoland@registermedia.com.
As the Iowa State Cyclones get set for the 2026 campaign, the program is also looking toward the future and rebuilding a program that was hit hard by departures.
Last season, Iowa State battled a lot of injuries, but was still able to have a pretty good year. However, following the campaign coming to an end and before bowl season kicked off, the team lost head coach Matt Campbell to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
As expected, a lot of players from the program ended up leaving, leaving the team with nearly an entire roster to rebuild. However, new head coach Jimmy Rogers has been able to come in and make a good impression early on.
While Iowa State might not be as talented as they were last year, they have a good coach and a lot of depth. The Cyclones will be hoping that he can develop and get the most out of some of these new players, but the team certainly won’t be competing for a Big 12 title next season.
For Iowa State, with at least this year being a rebuild for the program, they will be looking toward the future. With that comes a need to recruit well, and that is something Rogers and the staff have been impressive at so far.
Iowa State Recruiting Class Shaping Up Nicely
Following the four-star addition of Chuck Alexander, who flipped from the Louisville Cardinals, the 2027 recruiting class is looking really strong right now for Iowa State. According to Rivals, they rank 49th in the country right now, and that is a strong place to be for the team.
With Alexander being the new top recruit for the team, he will be joining a class that has been highlighted by some good offensive talent so far. Running back Isaiah Hansen is regarded as a very good player at his position, and the team also has offensive lineman Will Slagle.
With the three top recruits so far being offensive players, a future core might be starting to come together for Rogers and the program. While the team might be a bit more defensive-minded this year, there is clearly a focus on improving offensively for the future.
Overall, with time still to go, this class could continue to get better. However, it is really encouraging to see what Rogers and the staff have been able to accomplish so far. Recruiting will be key for Iowa State to get back to where they want to be, and they are off to a strong start.
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SOLON, IOWA — As holiday weekend crowds head to Iowa lakes and rivers, state and national law enforcement agencies are urging boaters to make safety a priority — especially when it comes to alcohol and drugs on the water.
The push is part of Operation Dry Water, a national awareness campaign aimed at deterring impaired boating, reducing alcohol and drug-related incidents, and enforcing Iowa’s boating while intoxicated laws.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials say the holiday weekend is a time when they often see a spike in enforcement activity. Last year, the Iowa DNR reported interacting with more than 1,200 vessels and issued 382 citations.
Rachel Allis, the Iowa DNR’s boating education coordinator, said conditions on the water can intensify impairment.
“We don’t realize the effect the sun, water, the waves have. Simply stated, you can get dehydrated much quicker when you’re out on your boats,” Allis said. “So, all of those compounds with medication and everything else, so impaired drivers are really what we’re on the lookout for and what we’re concerned for. Nationally, about a third of all incidents occur with an impaired driver.”
At Lake Macbride State Park, boaters and paddlers said they’re also taking steps to avoid trouble on busy waterways.
“All of us love to be out here in nature and Macbride is so pretty. So, it’s just a good togetherness function,” said Angela Ranaud, who was kayaking during the holiday weekend. “Fisherman, we try to stay away from them, so we don’t interfere their catching. We try to stay away from the wakes; they tend to capsize. Other than that kayaks a pretty low danger type of sport, so we just like to be out in the water.”
Corey Scott, a holiday boater at Lake Macbride, said the lake’s horsepower restriction helps keep speeds down between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but he still watches closely for smaller craft and stressed the importance of sober operation.
“Macbride is nice and easy, 9.9 horsepower between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” Scott said. “So, that’s the nice part you don’t have people speeding up and down and everywhere, so really the only thing to look out for is anybody on paddleboats, kayaks, things like that. Again, out here people say well you’re only going 9.9 so it’s not ‘hey you can have a few beers’ and stuff like that; but that’s the main thing to be aware of. Making sure you have a sober driver and just be aware of your surroundings.”
To learn more about boater safety visit Iowa’s DNR website.
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