Bonn, October 8, 2025 – Germany’s Bundeskartellamt has initiated proceedings against Whaleco Technology Limited, operator of the online marketplace Temu, to investigate whether the platform has influenced or controlled sellers’ pricing on its German site.
The authority’s investigation concerns the terms and conditions imposed on third-party sellers on Temu’s German marketplace, operated under temu.com, as well as other business practices affecting these sellers.
The authority also confirmed that it has received a formal complaint from the German Trade Association (Handelsverband Deutschland – HDE e.V.) regarding the same issue.
Bundeskartellamt President Andreas Mundt said, “More than 100 million users visit Temu’s European marketplaces each month. We are investigating suspicions that Temu may have imposed illegal pricing requirements on German sellers. Such restrictions could significantly limit competition and lead to higher prices in other sales channels.”
Temu, based in Dublin, Ireland, operates a range of online platforms across Europe and entered the German market in 2023. The platform provides marketplace services without selling products itself and is accessible via both its website and the Temu: Shop Like a Billionaire app.
In May 2024, the European Commission designated Temu as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The company subsequently reported an average of 115.7 million monthly active users in the EU and 19.3 million in Germany during the first half of 2025.
