House Energy Republicans Question Temu, Shein, Alibaba
House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans asked Temu, Alibaba and Shein to justify their use of data, to decry China's treatment of Uyghurs and to explain how they avoid stocking products made with forced labor or counterfeits.
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The letters, released Dec. 20, say: "These marketplaces are ... a known virtual destination to purchase 'knock off' impersonations of goods, that often violate registered patents and trademarks. Reports indicate that the quality and similarities are shockingly good, often able to trick the most well-trained eye."
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., wrote: "We are also aware that products for sale on some marketplaces contain hair from Uyghur women. Speaking on China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien recently stated that “[i]f not a genocide, something close to it [is] going on in Xinjiang” and that “[t]he Chinese are literally shaving the heads of Uyghur women and making hair products and sending them to the United States."
They posed these questions, among others, on data:
- We have heard employees of companies associated with the Chinese government, such as TikTok, disagree with notion that Uyghur people are facing a genocide in the Xinjiang region of China. Do you agree that there is a genocide occurring in the Xinjiang region of China?
- Are you aware of the [People's Republic of China]’s persecution of the Uyghur people, including the reports that Uyghur women’s heads have been shaved to be used for products that are shipped into the U.S.?
- Are there products using natural hair that originate in the Xinjiang region available on your e-commerce marketplace?
- Are there any other products that have originated from, or contain components or material that originated from the Xinjiang region?
- Given the human rights abuses occurring in the Xinjiang region, do you require any additional steps or increased scrutiny for products coming from such region?
- If yes, please explain.
- Can you unequivocally state that your supply chain is free of forced labor?
- What steps are you taking to ensure that your supply chain does not include forced labor?
While some of the firms they questioned are not headquartered in China, such as TikTok and Shein, China says that Chinese vendors avoiding the purchase of goods made by Xinjiang minorities due to Western compliance requests is illegal (see 2303220039).
Their questions about data practices included how minors' data is treated and how third parties treat data. They also asked the companies to pledge not to collect sensitive data such as religious, ethnic, racial, political opinions, biometric or health data.