Chinese e-commerce giant Temu accused of breaching EU's digital rules
EU "mystery shopping" exercise found dangerous toys and electronics for sale on the heavily discounted online marketplace.
On Monday the Commission announced that it has found the Chinese e-commerce giant Temu is breaching the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA) after it failed to assess risky and illegal products on its online marketplace.
Temu, which is one of a handful of online platforms offering heavily discounted goods that typically ship directly from China, has been under investigation by the Commission since October, when it opened a DSA probe on the marketplace covering multiple concerns, including over the sale of illegal products.
Announcing its preliminary finding today, the Commission said it believes Temu has failed to properly assess risks posed by products for sale on its marketplace.
The finding follows a risk assessment report which Temu submitted to the Commission last October as it was required to do under the DSA. However the report lacked specificity. It “primarily looked at general issues for online marketplaces and not specific issues with respect to its own marketplaces,” a Commission official told reporters during a background briefing earlier today.
EU consumers are also very likely to find unsafe products on Temu – including toys and small electronics – according to a Commission “mystery shopping exercise” which was conducted as part of its DSA oversight.
Unsafe products is one part of the Commission’s ongoing investigation against Temu. But the Commission has other concerns that it’s still examining, including probes on addictive design, recommender systems and transparency obligations.
Following the Commission’s initial findings, Temu has been given a few weeks to provide a response, per an EU official. The EU’s executive did not give a precise deadline for when it expects Temu’s feedback on its findings.
Under the DSA, companies can be fined up to 6% of their annual total worldwide turnover. While there is no EU fine for Temu today, ultimately, if the Commission confirms a breach it could issue the marketplace with a financial penalty.
“We will continue to cooperate fully with the European Commission,” a Temu spokesperson said in an emailed statement today.
Separately, Temu has been under a consumer protection probe since last November. That ongoing investigation, which falls under EU consumer laws, is co-led by the Commission and national consumer protection authorities, including Belgium and Ireland.
(nl)
