Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway sued Temu and its parent PDD Holdings on October 13, 2026, alleging the shopping app covertly collects users’ location, camera, microphone and other data and deceives Missouri consumers with false pricing and counterfeit goods. The state seeks penalties, restitution and an injunction; there is no settlement or claim process for consumers.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a lawsuit filed by a state attorney general. The statements below are unproven allegations. Temu and PDD Holdings have not been found liable in Missouri, and there is nothing for consumers to claim. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is Missouri’s Lawsuit Against Temu?
Missouri Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway filed suit on October 13, 2026 in the Circuit Court of Cole County, Case No. 26AC-CC00672. The defendants are PDD Holdings Inc., formerly Pinduoduo Inc.; Whaleco Inc., which does business as Temu; and Temu Payments Inc. The 104-page petition brings four counts under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, for deception, unfair practices, concealment of material facts and misrepresentation, plus a common-law claim for unjust enrichment.The attorney general’s announcement says the suit follows a multi-year investigation, and the petition says the state retained expert forensic investigators who examined the code of the Temu app and its predecessor, the Pinduoduo app. The attorneys general of Arkansas, Nebraska, Kentucky, Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma have also sued Temu.
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What Does Missouri Allege?
According to the petition and the attorney general’s announcement, the Temu app collects personal information beyond what a shopping app needs, including precise location, microphone and camera access, and a list of the other apps and accounts on a phone, without users’ knowledge or consent. The state alleges the app is built to avoid detection and can reconfigure itself on a phone after it is downloaded, and that it reuses code from Pinduoduo, the parent company’s earlier app, which Google suspended from the Google Play Store in March 2023 after malware issues were found.The petition also alleges that PDD’s operations in mainland China expose user data to access by the Chinese government, a risk the state says users are not told about when they sign up. It describes more conventional consumer claims as well: misrepresented product quality, false “reference” prices, gamified promotions and sign-up offers that the state calls deceptive. On child safety, the state alleges the app has no age verification, targets children with games and ads, and lists weapons and drug paraphernalia that minors can reach. It also alleges sales of counterfeit merchandise using the marks of the Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Blues, Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser and the University of Missouri.
These are allegations. Temu had not responded to requests for comment from local news outlets.
What Is Missouri Asking For?
The petition asks the court for restitution, a permanent injunction, civil penalties of $1,000 for each violation of the Merchandising Practices Act, an additional payment to the State equal to 10% of the total restitution ordered, investigation and prosecution costs, and disgorgement on the unjust enrichment claim. It asks that the defendants be held jointly and severally liable. Missouri is represented by the attorney general’s consumer protection staff with two outside firms.Texas Settled Its Temu Lawsuit Three Days Later
On October 16, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a settlement of the lawsuit Texas filed against PDD Holdings and Whaleco on February 19, 2026. According to the Texas announcement, Temu will pay $3 million to the State of Texas, store Texans’ personal data on U.S. servers owned and controlled by an American company and restrict access from China, subject to essential business functions, and pay an $8 million civil penalty for each annual independent audit that finds material noncompliance with its data-security terms. It must also run annual independent product-safety testing and, for products confirmed to be harmful, remove them, terminate the seller, notify affected Texas consumers and issue full refunds. The money goes to the state; there is no general fund or claim form for Texas consumers. In the agreed judgment, Temu’s companies deny wrongdoing, and the settlement is not an admission of liability.Other States’ Lawsuits Against Temu
• Arkansas — filed June 25, 2024 in Cleburne County Circuit Court• Nebraska — filed June 11, 2025 in Lancaster County District Court
• Kentucky — filed July 17, 2025 in Woodford County Circuit Court
• Arizona — filed December 1, 2025 in Maricopa County Superior Court
• Texas — filed February 19, 2026 in Collin County District Court; settlement announced October 16, 2026
• Oklahoma — filed May 6, 2026 in Cleveland County District Court
• Missouri — filed October 13, 2026 in Cole County Circuit Court
Except for Texas, OCA did not find a final resolution in these cases as of October 20, 2026. Private consumer suits against Temu are separate; OCA’s Temu class action update covers their status.
Questions
Why did Missouri sue Temu?
Missouri’s attorney general alleges the Temu app covertly collects users’ personal data, including location, microphone and camera access and lists of installed apps, exposes that data to possible Chinese government access without telling users, and deceives consumers with false pricing and counterfeit goods. These are allegations; no court has ruled.
Can Missouri residents get money from the Temu lawsuit?
Not now. The suit is a state enforcement action, not a class action, and there is no settlement or claim form. The petition asks for restitution, which would come only from a judgment or settlement.
What did Temu agree to in the Texas settlement?
According to the Texas attorney general’s October 16, 2026 announcement, Temu will pay $3 million to the state, keep Texans’ data on U.S. servers with restricted China access, pay $8 million for each annual audit that finds material noncompliance with its data terms, test products annually and refund Texas buyers of products confirmed to be harmful. There is no general consumer fund.
Which states have sued Temu?
Arkansas, Nebraska, Kentucky, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri have sued Temu. Texas announced a settlement on October 16, 2026; OCA did not find a final resolution in the other cases as of October 20, 2026.
Sources
• Missouri Attorney General press release (October 13, 2026) and petition, State of Missouri ex rel. Hanaway v. PDD Holdings Inc. et al., No. 26AC-CC00672 (Cole Cnty. Cir. Ct.)• Texas Attorney General settlement announcement (October 16, 2026)
• Attorney general announcements for the Arkansas, Nebraska, Kentucky, Arizona and Oklahoma Temu lawsuits
• KBIA/KOMU and KCUR (October 14, 2026)
