Temu Joins Italy's National Anti-Counterfeiting Project VER.O: First E-commerce Platform to Participate

[Ebrun Exclusive] July 11th news. Temu recently announced a strategic partnership with CODICI, a prominent Italian consumer rights protection organization, officially joining Italy's national anti-counterfeiting project, VER.O. This move makes Temu the first e-commerce platform to participate in this project framework, signaling a further strengthening of the platform's commitment to compliance and consumer protection in the European market.

The VER.O project, whose full name is 'Verifica l'Originale' meaning 'Verify the Original', is funded by the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and 'Made in Italy' and is jointly promoted by multiple government agencies, law enforcement bodies, and private institutions. Participants include the Italian Patent and Trademark Office, the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza), and the Central Inspectorate for Quality Protection and Fraud Repression of Agri-food Products (ICQRF). The project aims to enhance consumer awareness of counterfeit and non-compliant goods, support the public in reporting suspected problematic products, and promote the establishment of a safer online shopping environment.

Under the VER.O project's cooperation mechanism, consumers can proactively report goods they suspect are counterfeit or non-compliant. These reports will be collected via digital tools provided by CODICI and forwarded through a dedicated fast-track channel established in collaboration with partners like Temu, enabling more standardized and efficient review and handling of related cases. The establishment of this mechanism is expected to create a closed-loop path, supplementing the platform's own review process. This path is initiated by consumers, filtered through the consumer protection organization, and ultimately handled collaboratively with the platform.

In discussing the cooperation, Ivano Giacomelli, National Secretary of CODICI, stated that collaborating with Temu through the VER.O project is a significant step in deepening the long-term relationship between the two parties and also helps to further strengthen the connection between consumers and digital platforms. This statement indicates the consumer protection organization's recognition of establishing institutionalized collaborative channels with e-commerce platforms.

Beyond the reporting mechanism, the two parties will also focus on consumer education. CODICI and Temu will jointly compile and promote practical guides to help consumers identify characteristics of suspected non-compliant goods, understand the reporting process, and learn how to seek assistance through CODICI's existing consumer service channels. This means the cooperation is not limited to post-incident handling but also attempts to reduce consumers' risk of encountering problematic goods through front-end education.

A Temu spokesperson stated that the company is always committed to working with trusted partners to enhance consumer awareness and continuously improve the mechanisms for identifying and handling potential issues. Participating in the VER.O project reflects the company's ongoing commitment to promoting responsible digital commerce and its desire to strengthen cooperation with all parties in the industrial ecosystem to jointly maintain product integrity and protect local brands.

This deepening of cooperation with CODICI is part of Temu's overall strategy to continuously strengthen consumer protection partnerships in Europe. It has been disclosed that, as an important initiative to promote transparency and industry collaboration, Temu held over 100 exchange events with consumer protection organizations, industry associations, chambers of commerce, and investment promotion agencies across Europe in the first half of this year and participated in 30 industry conferences. These frequent communication efforts indicate that Temu is attempting to address European market concerns regarding compliance and consumer rights through institutionalized cooperation.

It is reported that CODICI, whose full name is Centro per i Diritti del Cittadino (Center for Citizens' Rights), is a major Italian consumer association dedicated to protecting consumer rights. The organization supports consumers through information consultation, rights protection assistance, policy advocacy, and report handling, covering areas such as digital commerce, product safety, market transparency, and fair trade. Establishing a formal partnership with such a consumer organization, which has a background of government cooperation, signifies that Temu's compliance approach is shifting from unilateral platform governance to a collaborative governance model that incorporates local public oversight frameworks.

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