Brussels refuses to block Shein in the EU, rejecting France's claim
The French government's threat to Shein over the sale of childish sex dolls coincided with the opening of the platform's first physical shop, two steps from Notre Dame Cathedral.
The European Commission has assured Thursday that it does not intend to suspendShein's activity at European level. The French Government has put in place a procedure to temporarily restrict the website in the country for the sale of child sex dollsby the platform.
The French Finance Minister, Roland Lescure, and the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs, Anne Le Henanff, sent a letter to Brussels on Wednesday calling for "interim measures" to be taken and for the investigation against the company to be launched "without delay". Moreover, France gave Shein 48 hours to prove that its contents comply with national law in order to respond to a judicial investigation into the alleged sale of child sex dolls .
From Brussels, the Commission's digital policy spokesman, Thomas Regnier, recalled that Shein has already opened an investigation into the sale of illegal products under the Digital Services Act (DSA), but stressed that a total suspension would be " the last resort. "
"Before intervening, we need to determine whether the problem is confined to a few sellers or whether there is a general risk."
Spokesman Regnier added that "the platform cannot be abruptly blocked for circulating something illegal", recalling that in that digital space "there aremany legitimate content " .
In the meantime, although the French version of the Shein website remains available, only clothing fromthe same brand is sold. There are no toys, no home gadgets, or the usual open offer of other gadgets.
The pressure on Shein is not limited to France. In Germany, the HDE trade association has urged the federal government and the Community authorities to take a stronger stand against the company.
In addition, Stiftung Warentest reported last week that 110 of Shein and his competitor Temu's 162 products did not meet European standards because they detected unsafe components and toxic metals in their products.
In any case, the European Commission has recalled thatthe Irish authoritiesshould take the decision to block the blockade throughout the EU, since Shein's headquarters are in Dublin.