The entire country watched as a surveillance balloon floated across the continental United States earlier this month. While the Chinese Communist Party claimed the balloon was being used to track weather patterns, it, of course, heightened national security concerns.
Since then, at least three more objects have flown over North America. The CCP claims to know nothing about them, but we should know better. Allowing the CCP to infiltrate all aspects of American life — from social media to agriculture to shopping — will be seen as one of the biggest errors of the 21st century.
This error was just on full display on one of the country’s biggest stages. On Sunday, the Super Bowl aired a commercial for Temu , a China-based e-commerce company.
Temu was founded approximately six months ago and is already the most downloaded app in the United States. This may sound familiar, as TikTok, another app developed in China, has taken the nation by storm . Rather than encouraging viral dance moves, Temu offers absurdly low prices on a junky, ad-ridden website, and it seems the shopping app is the latest way that the CCP is asserting its influence within U.S. borders.
Immediately, it’s clear that the products are being sold at unrealistically low prices. For example, the site is currently selling copycat AirPods for less than $10. Apple, in comparison, sells its classic AirPods for $100. Already there have been complaints of long waits for products, unresponsive customer service, and unexpected charges. In fact, 30 complaints have been filed with the Better Business Bureau since the company opened its virtual doors. It seems the extremely low prices really are too good to be true.
Of course, any company based in China should also be scrutinized for human rights abuses. From solar panel production to fast fashion companies such as Shein, labor conditions supervised by the CCP are dismal. Late last year, the Biden administration blacklisted another China-based company for human rights violations as well as accusations of shark finning. So, while human rights should be our first priority, companies such as Temu are also bad news for our environment.
Cheaply made, plastic-heavy products and mass consumerism are exactly what we should be moving away from as we work to reduce emissions and address other environmental concerns such as microplastics or ocean debris. Temu’s cheap products, everything from the copycat AirPods to kitchen sponges in bulk, will likely become waste very quickly, filling up American landfills.
Temu claims to offset shipping emissions and support sustainable farming initiatives, but it’s difficult to tell if these moves are legitimate or disingenuous public relations ploys. Most would bet on the latter. Moreover, shipping products from China will always result in higher emissions than producing goods right here at home.
It’s a shame that the Super Bowl allowed Temu to air not just one, but multiple spots during the most-watched television program of the year. The CCP’s influence on American life is not something we should take lightly. For human life and our environment alike, CCP influence is one of the most dangerous forces on the planet. We must fight back.
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Benji Backer ( @BenjiBacker ) is the president and founder of the American Conservation Coalition.
