Lawmakers sent similar letters to TikTok, Temu and Alibaba.
“Media reports suggest that Chinese e-commerce marketplaces are becoming increasingly popular in the Western world. This poses a serious risk to e-commerce, consumer safety, and people’s privacy and data security,” the letter said. “The increasing popularity of apps and marketplaces such as TikTok, TaoBao, Pinduoduo, Temu, Alibaba, AliExpress and Shein has led to intense public scrutiny of these companies’ business practices.”
In response, a Shein spokesperson told CNBC that it had received the committee's letter and “will provide a response.”
Shein has received numerous letters from members of Congress and local lawmakers across the country about the use of forced labor in its supply chain and is already facing intense scrutiny from officials who fear the retailer is skirting U.S. laws. But Wednesday's letter from McMorris Rodgers and Bilirakis differs in both its focus and its bite.
While the letter addressed Shein's use of forced labor, its primary focus was on data protection. Unlike some other elected officials and committees scrutinizing Shein, the Energy and Commerce Committee has greater prominence in its mandate to address issues related to consumer protection and foreign trade.
The letter asks Shein what privacy practices it requires of its third-party vendors and service providers and whether it collects biometric, genetic and other health data from users. Lawmakers also questioned whether the company collects information about consumers' religious and political beliefs.
The letter asked whether Shein agrees that genocide is taking place in China's Xinjiang region, particularly against the Uyghur ethnic group, and whether Shein can “state unequivocally” that there is no forced labor in its supply chain.
When asked earlier this year whether U.S. data was stored in China, Shein told CNBC that the information was stored in Microsoft and Amazon's cloud services “in data centers and regions within the United States.”
But lawmakers remain concerned that data about U.S. consumers could end up in the hands of the Chinese government. While Shein insists it is a global company founded in China, the majority of its supply chain is based in the region and could be subject to Chinese law.
“From 2014 to 2017, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) passed several laws requiring all Chinese technology companies to provide CCP officials with access to user data. In addition, all Chinese technology companies must comply with the CCP's requirements, which in some cases is a “require.”[ment] build [their] Networks in a way that the Chinese government has access to,” the letter said. “Past violations by TikTok and other Chinese-owned applications to protect user data and China's record of accessing Americans' information undermine any claim to data security.”
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