FEB 18 – The European Union (EU) has launched a formal investigation into fast fashion giant Shein over possible breaches of digital law, including the sale of childlike sex dolls.
The European Commission (EC), the EU’s executive arm, said it will examine what systems the Chinese firm has in place to prevent the sale of illegal products “including content which could constitute child sexual abuse material”.
It will also investigate the “addictive design” of Shein’s platform and the transparency of the system it uses to suggest products and content to shoppers.
Shein said: “Protecting minors and reducing the risk of harmful content and behaviours are central to how we develop and operate our platform.”
Last year, Shein was reported to French authorities for selling “sex dolls with a childlike appearance” on its website.
The firm said it removed the products immediately, banned the sellers, and removed the sale of sex dolls “regardless of appearance” across its global site. It also said it worked with local and international authorities on investigations into both the buyers and sellers of the childlike sex dolls.
The Commission said it will investigate the systems Shein uses to limit the sale of illegal products. It said that would include weapons but declined to specify particular items.
It has sent a number of requests for information to Shein in the past and EC spokesperson Thomas Regnier told the BBC’s World Business Report that Shein was “very cooperative”.
But the EC said that once there were indications that a platform may have systemic risks for its users, the EC could open proceedings to investigate further.
Regnier said the EC was concerned about the “addictive” nature of Shein’s website, and the “gamification” of the platform, including its “rewards programme” for consumers.
He said that the Commission was not against reward programmes per se, but that online platform algorithms were “often opaque”.
“You don’t know how they’re being designed [and] you’re not in control of what you see,” he said.
The EC will also examine the transparency of so-called “recommender systems” which use a shopper’s data to push certain products their way.
It said that under the Digital Services Act (DSA), Shein must disclosed the main parameters it uses to recommend products and must provide users with “at least one easily accessible option” that is not based on using their data to profile their likely purchases.
Opening a formal investigation into a company means that the EC can take “enforcement steps” such as fines of up to 6% of a company’s global sales. In the most recent figures available, Shein reported $38bn in sales for 2024.
A spokesperson for Shein said: “Over the last few months, we have continued to invest significantly in measures to strengthen our compliance with the DSA.
“These include comprehensive systemic-risk assessments and mitigation frameworks, enhanced protections for younger users, and ongoing work to design our services in ways that promote a safe and trusted user experience,” it said.
By BBC
