European Union regulators have launched a formal investigation into Shein for breaching the 27-nation bloc’s digital platform rules, citing as evidence what they described as the Chinese-founded e-tailer’s “addictive design,” a lack of transparency around how it recommends products to consumers and the sale of illegal products that could constitute child sexual abuse material.
“In the EU, illegal products are prohibited — whether they are on a store shelf or on an online marketplace,” Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy at the European Commission, said in a statement. “The Digital Services Act keeps shoppers safe, protects their well-being and empowers them with information about the algorithms they are interacting with.”
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Brussels said it will work with Coimisiún na Meán, the digital services coordinator for Ireland, where Shein’s EU-registered entity is based, to carry out an in-depth probe as a “matter of priority.” It noted that since the DSA sets no legal deadline for concluding such proceedings, the case’s duration will depend on factors such as its complexity, Shein’s cooperation level and the exercise of defense rights. DSA infringements can result in fines of up to 6 percent of a company’s global annual turnover.
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The move came after the discovery of illicit weapons and childlike sex dolls on Shein’s website late last year prompted French ministers to urge the European Commission to crack down on the company for violating EU law requiring online platforms to take proactive steps to counter illegal and harmful content. Brussels had previously found Shein rival Temu in breach of the DSA for failing to do enough to prevent the sale of non-compliant products, such as unsafe baby toys and small electronics, because it relied on general industry information rather than specific details about its marketplace to assess risk.
The French government’s own efforts to suspend the Singapore-headquartered marketplace for three months were dismissed by a Paris tribunal in December as a “disproportionate” sanction since the offending products had been removed after “sporadic” sales. Still, the court warned Shein not to resume selling “sexual products that could constitute pornographic content, without implementing age-verification measures.” In an appeal hearing in early February, the French state narrowed its demands against Shein, seeking a moratorium of third-party sellers rather than the full site.
Shein said it has made “significant” investments over the past few months to strengthen its compliance with the DSA, including conducting systemic risk assessments, bolstering mitigation frameworks and enhancing age-restricted protocols to better protect younger users.
“In particular, we have engaged with the commission on the deployment of our age-assurance solution across the EU, using trusted third-party technology that balances compliance with both minor protection and privacy requirements,” a spokesperson said. “This solution complements our existing measures to prevent minors from viewing or purchasing age-restricted content or products.”