Chinese e-commerce site Temu accused by the EU of violating its digital services law

The European Commission accused the Chinese-based e-commerce site Temu on Monday, July 28, of violating its Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to adequately monitor the products it offers, including baby toys. A European Union (EU) investigation, which is still ongoing, shows that there is "a high risk for EU consumers" of finding "illegal products on the platform," the Commission said.

Temu still has the opportunity to respond, but risks a fine of up to 6% of its annual turnover if the violation is confirmed. "According to our preliminary assessment, Temu falls far short of assessing the risks to its users according to the standards required by the Digital Services Regulation," said European Commissioner for Digital Affairs Henna Virkkunen.

The Commission is particularly pointing the finger at "baby toys" and "small electronic devices" that may not comply with European standards. Brussels intends to continue its investigation, opened in October 2024 , into other alleged infringements, such as the "addictive design" of the Temu app, with its flash promotions and games, as well as the possible lack of transparency in purchasing recommendations.

Temu, which is experiencing meteoric growth in Europe thanks to its low-cost strategy, is the international version of the Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, founded in 2015. It offers a plethora of products: clothing, toys, decoration, tools, high-tech, etc. In May 2024, European consumer associations filed a complaint against the platform, accusing it in particular of encouraging users to spend more. In October, the company announced that it had taken "significant measures" and "refined" its practices "within the framework of the European regulation" on digital services.

Extremely popular in the EU despite its recent market launch in 2023, Temu has an average of 93.7 million monthly active users across the 27 Member States. To protect users from potentially harmful content or products, other DSA investigations are underway in the EU, including on the Chinese site AliExpress, as well as on the social networks Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.

The EU is also keen to combat the influx of small, cheap parcels into the EU, with a proposal currently under consideration to impose a €2 tax per parcel . Last year, 4.6 billion such parcels entered the EU – more than 145 per second – 91% of which came from China.