The European Parliament on Wednesday called for quicker suspension of e-commerce platforms in case of serious breaches of European Union (EU) law, following the Shein child pornography sex doll scandal in France.
In a non-binding resolution adopted at a plenary session in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), the European Parliament “urged for a simpler and quicker” “temporary suspension of online market activity in the event of systematic, serious or repeated violations of Union law, as in the case of Shein in France”. “The suspension of online marketplaces should no longer be considered an extraordinary measure taken as a last resort,” they stressed.
The French Economy Ministry welcomed this decision “which has the potential to open an investigation”. “This procedure was triggered by a warning sent by the French authorities to the Commission to guarantee the strict implementation of the DSA against large platforms. As part of this procedure, the European Commission may decide to open a formal investigation against Shein, subjecting the platform to sanctions of up to 6% of its global turnover,” Bercy claimed.
European Parliament members slam “failed system”
The French state requested the suspension of Asian e-commerce platforms for three months after the discovery of sales of category A dolls and weapons in early November. The hearing to be held this Wednesday on this matter before a Paris court was postponed until December 5 at the request of state lawyers who regretted being late in accepting Shein’s defense arguments.
The recent findings regarding Shein “are not evidence of an isolated incident, but of a systemic failure that cannot be corrected simply by a product recall or public apology,” according to the text of the resolution voted on by members of the European Parliament.
The platform is not the only one in the crosshairs of the French judiciary. On Tuesday, the Paris prosecutor’s office told AFP that eBay America was the target of an investigation into the sale of illegal products – in this case weapons -, the fifth such procedure after those targeting Shein, AliExpress, Temu and Wish.
The European Commission also announced on Wednesday that it had requested information from Shein’s company following the scandal. In the resolution, members of the European Parliament also invited the Commission “to take effective measures without delay against dangerous and prohibited products sold on online platforms, including legislative measures where legal loopholes are clearly visible”.
And they called on “Member States to significantly strengthen customs controls and expand risk analysis capabilities (…) in order to quickly detect and intercept non-compliant goods”, which would make it possible to “limit losses to consumers” and “preserve the economic interests of Union companies”.
