Temu’s invasive data practices threaten Montana’s privacy

It seems nowadays that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is doing everything in its power to hack, spy, and surveil the United States and its citizens. The examples of their surveillance capacity keep piling up — from the infamous spy balloon, to the outright ban on cellphones and communications equipment manufactured by Huawei, to the enormous data collection conducted on Americans by TikTok.  Underlying all of these instances is a malicious intent to manipulate and undermine our country.

Fortunately, Montana has been leading the charge against the CCP.  Montana was the first state to ban the Chinese-owned app “TikTok,” a move finally copied by the federal government just last month. And in May 2023, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill prohibiting “the sale or lease of agricultural land, critical infrastructure, and homes near military installations by Montana entities to foreign adversaries,” especially the CCP.

However, these moves may not be enough to protect Montanans from China’s ever-increasing encroachment. Recently, serious red flags have been raised about the CCP’s newest infiltration and data-collecting app, a retail platform called Temu,