Temu shoppers warned of 'high risk' illegal products being sold on site

Online shopping platform Temuhas come under fire from the European Commission for not doing enough to assess the risks of illegal products being sold, potentially breaching new EU digital services laws. The commission made an announcement on July 28, highlighting a "high risk" for EU consumers to encounter illegal goods on the shopping platform's website.

Specifically a mystery shopping exercise conducted by the commission revealed thatconsumers browsingTemu were highly likely to come across non-compliant items, including baby toys and small electronics. This revelation is part of an investigation into the retail behemoth as per the Digital Services Act (DSA), which is new legislation governing online content throughout the European Union.

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The DSA requires companies running online platforms like e-commerce sites to assess the likelihood of consumers encountering hazardous or illegal goods and to take action to mitigate the risk.

The commission pointed out that, according to a risk assessment carried out by Temu, owned by PDD Holdings, in October, 2024, the findings were "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', has issued a stark warning: "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," reported MyLondon.

Although the report targets EU residents, there have been numerous instances of consumers elsewhere receiving incorrect or potentially dangerous items from online marketplaces like Temu.

The Mirror highlighted the plight of a Texan who ordered a dog toy online but was sent packs of Sacred Lotus seeds instead, which are considered a biohazard in some US regions.

The company could face fines of up to six percent of its annual global turnover if the commission finds its risk assessment doesn't meet DSA standards. The commission also disclosed that it would continue to scrutinise the firm for other possible breaches of the DSA, such as using addictive design features and a lack of transparency about its algorithms.

The EU is striving to address what it views as an influx of cheap and potentially hazardous goods from China flooding the single market. Authorities also issued a formal warning to Shein in May, stating that the company's marketing practices violated EU consumer protection laws.