Key takeaways
- France was initially seeking a three-month suspension of Shein for selling banned items.
- The move follows investigations into harmful content accessible to minors.
- Shein has disabled its marketplace and pledged full cooperation with authorities.
- The controversy coincides with Shein’s first physical store opening in Paris.
- The EU has now ordered that the business gives more information under a DSA request, which has delayed the court case to 5 December.
On 5 November, the French government released a press statement that read: “On the instructions of the Prime Minister, the government is initiating the procedure to suspend Shein for the time necessary for the platform to demonstrate to the public authorities that all of its content is finally in compliance with our laws and regulations.”
Shein, a Singapore-based company originally founded in China, has faced criticism over working conditions at its factories and the environmental impact of its ultra-fast fashion business model.
The investigations were launched after France’s anti-fraud unit reported on Saturday that Shein was selling childlike sex dolls.
The probes were for distributing “messages that are violent, pornographic or improper, and accessible to minors”, the office told French news agency AFP.
France has also stepped up scrutiny of online platforms including Amazon, Temu, AliExpress, Joom and Wish for failures in filtering harmful or adult content.
Marketplace shutdown and increased oversight of online retailers
Shein, which sells products across multiple categories including beauty, has now disabled its marketplace – where third-party sellers offer their products to shoppers. The section of its website offering Shein’s own clothing range is still accessible.
The French government began an accelerated judicial procedure that was due to be heard in Paris on 26 November, but has now been delayed to 5 December as the EU has demanded from Shein, saying it feared risks to consumers across the whole of Europe.
Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Commission (EC) has sent Shein a request for information following preliminary indications that illegal goods are being offered on the marketplace.
The EC has stated that it “suspects that Shein’s system may pose a systemic risk for consumers across the entire European Union” and that it is now seeking detailed information and internal documents from Shein “on how it ensures that minors are not exposed to age-inappropriate content,” especially through age assurance measures.
A DSA request for information can lead to probes and even fines, but does not in itself suggest the law has been broken. The DSA request also gives the EU the power to temporarily suspend a platform
The controversy comes as Shein is set to open its first-ever bricks-and-mortar store in the world in Paris’ BHV department store.
“We will cooperate fully with the judicial authorities,” Shein’s spokesman in France, Quentin Ruffat, told RMC radio, adding the company was prepared to share names of those who have bought the items.
“We will be completely transparent with the authorities. If they ask us to do so, we will comply,” he said. “We will put the necessary safeguards in place to ensure that this does not happen again.”