Six EU countries call for stricter supervision of Shein and Temu

Six European Union countries, including the Netherlands and Germany, are calling on Brussels to tighten the screws on online shopping sites Temu and Shein, which are suspected of selling products that are sometimes dangerous to consumers.

“Every day, hundreds of thousands of parcels arrive at our homes, mainly from China, with goods that do not comply with European market rules,” German State Secretary for Economic Affairs Sven Giegold said Thursday before a meeting with his colleagues in Brussels.

In a document seen by AFP, Germany asked the European Commission to “take all necessary measures” to “rigorously implement” the EU's new Digital Services Act (DSA), citing the risks of consumer harm and unfair competition.

The document specifically mentions Temu and Shein. In addition to France, it is supported by Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland. At the end of June, the Commission requested information from Temu and Shein to verify their compliance with European consumer protection rules. Brussels has questioned these platforms of Chinese origin mainly about the measures they take to enable the reporting of illegal products.

Other requests concern misleading interfaces ("dark patterns") that allow the manipulation of user behaviour, the protection of minors, the transparency of product recommendation systems or even the traceability of sellers on these platforms.

These various points are subject to obligations or prohibitions under the DSA, which came into full force on February 17. Both companies confirmed their willingness to cooperate with the authorities. Requests for information are a first step that can lead to the opening of a formal investigation and ultimately to heavy financial sanctions in the event of proven violations of the regulations.

Brussels had added Shein and Temu to the list of digital giants directly supervised by the Commission and subject to enhanced controls under the DSA at the end of April and the end of May respectively. This list includes 24 major platforms, including Amazon, AliExpress, Google Shopping, Facebook, X or Instagram.

Shein, an application founded in China in 2012, is considered an emblem of the social and environmental excesses of cheap fashion. Temu, which is experiencing rapid growth in Europe thanks to a low-price strategy, is the international version of the Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, born in 2015. It offers a plethora of products: clothing, toys, decoration, tools, technology and more.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.NL. Translation via AI and edit by Rachel Douglass.