EU regulators imposed a €200m fine on Temu for not preventing the sale of illegal and dangerous products. A 19-month investigation found consumers were very likely to encounter unsafe items such as baby toys and electronics. A mystery shopping exercise found high percentages of unsafe baby products and dangerous chargers, along with unsafe clothes and jewellery. Consumer groups reported choking hazards from loose toy parts, strangulation risks from dummy chains, jewellery containing dangerous metals such as lead, clothes with banned chemicals, and chargers that could cause burns, electric shocks, or fires. The European Commission also criticized inadequate website design controls and said recommender systems and influencer promotions could amplify dissemination risks. The penalty was the second-highest under the Digital Services Act.
"EU regulators have fined the Chinese shopping website Temu 200m (173m) for failing to stop the sale of illegal and dangerous products. The European Commission imposed the penalty after a 19-month investigation that found consumers were very likely to encounter illegal or unsafe products including baby toys and electronics on the firm's website. An unpublished mystery shopping exercise carried out for the commission found a high percentage of unsafe baby products and a very high percentage of dangerous chargers for sale on the platform, as well as unsafe clothes and jewellery."
"Consumer groups across Europe have previously reported baby toys with loose parts presenting choking hazards, dummy chains long enough that they could strangle a child, jewellery laced with dangerous metals including lead, clothes made with banned chemicals and chargers that posed risks of burns, electric shocks or fire. The commission also criticised Temu over inadequate controls on the design of its website. Recommender systems and influencers' promotions by influencers could amplify dissemination risks of illegal products it said."
"The 200m fine is the second and highest-ever imposed under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which has applied to the world's biggest tech companies since February 2024. It follows a 120m penalty issued to Elon Musk's X last December for deceptive verification badges and lack of transparency over advertising. A senior EU official said the commission had found a particularly serious breach of the act related to an inadequate risk assessment on unsafe products that Temu carried out in 2024."
"Under the DSA a company can be fined up to 6% of global turnover. The senior EU official said the fine was proportionate and that other part. The fine represents only a fraction of Temu's fast-growing revenues. Its parent company, PDD Holdings, reported global revenues of $54bn (40bn) in 2024, although this included income from another popular Chinese e-commerce site, Pinduoduo."
#digital-services-act-dsa #e-commerce-compliance #consumer-safety #online-risk-assessment #eu-enforcement
Read at www.theguardian.com
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