Temu isn’t doing nearly enough to evaluate the dangers of illegal products being sold online and may be violating fresh digital services legislation in the EU, the European Commission has declared. The commission announced today (Monday, July 28) that there was a “high risk” of EU consumers stumbling across illegal goods on the shopping platform’s website.
In particular, examination of a mystery shopping exercise carried out by the commission discovered that shoppers browsing Temu were extremely likely to encounter non-compliant items, including baby toys and small electronics.
The announcement forms part of an inquiry into the shopping giant under the commission’s Digital Services Act (DSA), fresh legislation controlling online content across the European Union. It compels firms operating online platforms such as e-commerce sites to evaluate how probable consumers are to encounter hazardous or illegal goods, and take steps to reduce the danger.
The commission stated that according to its examination, a risk assessment undertaken by Temu, which is owned by PDD Holdings, in October 2024 was “inaccurate” and “relying on general industry information rather than on specific details about its own marketplace”.
Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president for ‘tech sovereignty, security and democracy’, said: “We shop online because we trust that products sold in our Single Market are safe and comply with our rules. In our preliminary view, Temu is far from assessing risks for its users at the standards required by the Digital Services Act. Consumers’ safety online is not negotiable in the EU – our laws, including the Digital Services Act, are the foundation for a better protection online and a safer and fairer digital Single Market for all Europeans.”
While the report was aimed at those living within the EU, there have been multiple cases of consumers in other parts of the world receiving incorrect or potentially harmful products from online marketplaces such as Temu. The Mirror reported on a man in Texas who ordered a dog toy online and instead received packs of Sacred Lotus seeds, which are considered a biohazard in some parts of the US.
The firm could be hit with penalties reaching up to 6 per cent of its annual global revenue should the commission ultimately determine its risk evaluation falls short of DSA requirements. The commission revealed that officials would also persist in examining the business over additional suspected violations of the DSA, including employing habit-forming design elements and insufficient openness regarding its algorithms.
The EU is attempting to tackle what it perceives as an influx of inexpensive and potentially dangerous goods from China swamping the single market. Authorities also dispatched a formal caution to Shein in May, declaring the firm’s marketing methods breached EU consumer protection legislation.
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