EU imposes 200 million euro fine on online retailer Temu

The European Commission has imposed a 200 million euro fine on the Chinese online marketplace Temu for illegal products. The Brussels authority announced that the company had failed to properly assess the risks and damages to consumers. This is a particularly serious breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Consumers in the EU were highly likely to encounter illegal items on Temu.

“Temu's risk assessment underestimates specific risks, is too vague, lacks solid evidence and is not comprehensive,” denounced the responsible vice president of the European Commission, Henna Virkkunen. She stated it does not show “the actual extent of the potential harm” caused by illegal products sold via Temu. Temu now has 130 million customers in Europe, so illegal products reach many EU citizens, Virkkunen said.

Temu announced it would carefully review the decision and “weigh all available options”. The company will continue to cooperate constructively with the European Commission. Temu gives European consumers “access to a wide range of affordable products” and also helps European companies reach more customers.

Dangerous baby toys and chargers

The authority cited, among other things, test purchases from last year in which many products failed. A “very high percentage of the selected chargers” had “failed basic safety tests”. A “high percentage of the baby toys tested” exceeded chemical limits or posed a choking hazard due to detachable parts.

Temu is an online marketplace where numerous companies sell various goods. The Chinese company has been active in Germany since spring 2023 and repeatedly causes a stir with its rock-bottom prices and high discounts. Products are often delivered directly from the manufacturer to the customer.

The provider is controversial. Politicians, trade representatives and consumer advocates criticise, among other things, product quality, a lack of controls and unfair competitive conditions.

EU: Influencers could increase risk

The European Commission has now criticised Temu's risk assessment. Contrary to legal requirements, it was based on general information about risks across the e-commerce sector instead of on “concrete evidence relating to its own service”, including public reports and tests. It also failed to adequately assess the extent to which Temu's design could increase the risk of disseminating illegal products. The European Commission cited product advertising by influencers and recommendation systems as examples.

Temu must now pay the fine and rectify the problems, otherwise the authority could impose additional daily penalties. Separately, European Commission experts are also currently investigating whether Temu may have violated EU law by restricting researchers' access to data and whether it should be doing more to combat the sale of illegal products, Virkkunen said. Chinese competitors Aliexpress and Shein are also under scrutiny.

Strict rules for online giants

The Digital Services Act (DSA) has been in force since February 2024 and is intended to be a powerful tool against practices by tech giants that are considered dangerous. Due to the DSA, large online platforms must adhere to much stricter regulations. User complaints must be addressed more effectively, illegal content removed more quickly and children better protected.

Otherwise, online platforms face hefty fines: up to 6 percent of their global annual turnover is possible. According to the European Commission, the fine against Temu is far from this percentage, given a global annual turnover of 53 billion euros in 2025. Critics accuse the authority of making too little use of these sanctions. The fine against Temu is only the second based on the DSA.

In December, the European Commission sanctioned Elon Musk's online platform X. It had to pay 120 million euros due to a lack of transparency. This involved, among other things, the misleading authentication of user accounts via the white verification tick on a blue background.

More and more parcels with cheap goods from China

In its decision on Temu, the European Commission's experts also took into account data from customs authorities, among other things. This showed “high rates of infringements for products sold on Temu in the categories examined”, it was stated.

European customs are facing a growing flood of parcels from abroad, particularly from China. According to the European Commission, around twelve million parcels arrived in the EU every day in 2024, significantly more than in the previous two years.

To counter unwanted cheap imports, a levy of three euros will be due in the EU from July for every parcel with a value of up to 150 euros. This will apply temporarily until a new platform is launched, expected in 2028, after which all goods imported into the EU will be subject to customs duty from the first euro.

From November 1, a new handling fee is also to apply to every product ordered online and imported into the EU. This measure has not yet been finalised. In addition, the amount of the fee has yet to be determined by the European Commission.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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