PARIS (Reuters) -France on Thursday increased pressure on the European Union to launch a formal investigation into Chinese online fast-fashion retailer Shein over the sale of child-like sex dolls and banned weapons on its marketplace.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Shein was “clearly” in breach of European rules.
“I believe that the European Commission must take action. It cannot wait any longer,” Barrot said in an interview with Franceinfo radio station.
France has moved to ban Shein over the illicit products, and Shein suspended its marketplace in the country to “review and strenghten” how third-party sellers operate on it, having already halted the sale of sex dolls worldwide.
“France alerts the European Commission and all member states to these serious breaches within its borders, and expects there are similar risks associated with this platform’s activities in other European Union countries,” France’s finance minister Roland Lescure and digital minister Anne le Henanff wrote in a letter to EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen.
France called on the European Commission to conduct investigations “without delay” to find out what led to the sale of illegal objects on the platform, according to the letter, which was sent late on Wednesday and shared with journalists Thursday.
A European Commission spokesperson confirmed the letter was received, and said the body will assess and decide on next steps.
Shein is classified as a “Very Large Online Platform” under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), and the Commission has powers to investigate platforms for potential breaches of that law.
The Commission can impose fines of up to 6% of a company’s global annual turnover for confirmed breaches of the DSA.
Earlier this year it asked Shein to provide internal documents and information on risks linked to illegal goods and content on its marketplace.
Separately, France is investigating other online platforms Temu, AliExpress and Wish as well as Shein for alleged rule breaches that include minors being able to access pornographic content via their marketplaces, the Paris prosecutor said on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Helen Reid, Dominique Vidalon, Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Ros Russell, Alexandra Hudson)
