On Thursday, France increased pressure on the European Union, calling for a formal investigation into the Chinese-owned fast-fashion e-commerce platform Shein for selling child-like sex dolls and prohibited weapons.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot stated that Shein has “clearly” violated European regulations. In an interview with France Info, Barrot said, “I believe the European Commission must take action, we can’t wait any longer.”
At the national level, France has taken action by banning Shein from selling these illegal products domestically. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has demanded the suspension of Shein’s operations “until” it proves compliance with French laws and regulations. The Prime Minister’s office stated on Wednesday that, “Following the Prime Minister’s instructions, the government has initiated the procedure to suspend Shein’s operations, and the platform must prove within the specified time frame that all its content complies with our country’s laws and regulations.”
Last Saturday, the French Competition, Consumer, and Anti-Fraud Authority discovered that Shein’s website was selling child-like sex dolls, leading to a judicial investigation. French media published photos of the “dolls” with explicit sexual undertones, sparking outrage. Shein subsequently assured that it had completely banned the sale of such products.
Shein stated that it had concerns about products sold by some third-party sellers and decided to temporarily suspend its “marketplace” business in France to “review and strengthen” the operations of third-party sellers on its platform. Previously, the company had stopped selling sex dolls globally.
Shein opened its first physical store in Paris on Wednesday afternoon, leading to condemnation from elected officials, industry associations, and textile professionals in France for its establishment and operations in the country.
Meanwhile, Barrot emphasized the need for further action at the European level, stating, “I hope to go further.” He added, “We have established all the relevant rules, but they have not been complied with. Therefore, the European Commission must take action.”
French Minister of Economy and Finance Roland Lescure and Ministerial representative for AI and digital affairs, Anne le Henanff, wrote to Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s technology affairs head, stating that France had reported serious violations within its borders and anticipated similar risks in the platform’s operations in other EU countries.
According to the letter sent late Wednesday and shared with reporters on Thursday, France urged the EU Commission to “immediately” launch an investigation to determine why illegal products were listed for sale on the platform.
A spokesman for the European Commission confirmed receiving the letter and stated that the institution would assess it to decide on the next steps.
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), Shein is classified as a “Very Large Online Platform (VLOP),” allowing the commission to investigate potential violations of the law.
If found to be in violation, the commission can impose fines on Shein of up to 6% of its global annual revenue.
Additionally, Paris prosecutors announced on Tuesday that investigations were underway into other online platforms, including Temu, AliExpress, Wish, and Shein, for alleged violations such as minors accessing adult content through their marketplace.
This year, Shein has already been fined a total of €191 million in France for violations of cookie regulations, false promotion, misinformation, and failure to report plastic microfibers.