The consumer association Facua has reported to the Ministry of Consumer Rights and the National Market and Competition Commission (CNMC) the sale of sex dolls resembling girls on the AliExpress e-commerce platform. The products were identified by the entity’s technicians during an Internet search, although they clarify that “within the platform they do not present descriptions that explicitly allude to their sexual nature”. Prices fluctuate between 241 and 442 euros, according to what was found. The complaint was filed weeks after the French justice system opened an investigation into the sale of similar products on the Shein platform.
Facua assures that “many of the reported models have already been removed from the site, although others continue to be marketed”. The association’s spokesperson, Rubén Sánchez, explained that all dolls of this type are marketed by the company Changsha Qiushang Mingzhu Technology Co., based in the Chinese province of Hunan, and that several were eliminated over the weekend. Sánchez also asked: “Sanctions must be imposed against the platforms that host this type of product. They cannot say that their sellers are the only ones responsible, but that they themselves must have control protocols.”
In its complaint, the organization claims: “The sale of sex dolls that resemble girls violates Organic Law 10/2022, of September 6, on the Global Guarantee of Sexual Freedom, which in its article 11 considers advertising that encourages or normalizes sexual violence against women, adolescents, girls and boys to be illegal.” He also specified that they do not comply with the General Law on Advertising, “which in Article 3 declares advertising that contributes to violence against minors to be illegal.”
The Spanish consumer association recalls in its statement on the complaint that, from 24 to 27 November, the plenary session of the European Parliament will vote in Strasbourg on a resolution on the online sale of illegal products in the EU. The text underlines: “It is foreseeable that MEPs will ask the European Commission to investigate the matter and to ensure measures to enforce the law on digital services”.
In early November, France temporarily suspended access to Shein’s website, following the scandal over the sale of sex dolls that appear to be underage. The company suspended all sales made by third-party sellers in that country “after detecting concerns regarding products offered by independent sellers.” The announcement came just as the brand opened its first physical store in the world, in the center of Paris, and the platform returned to normal operation within a couple of days.
