EU deepens scrutiny of Temu over unsafe products and DSA violations
The EU has found Temu in breach of the EU’s Digital Services Act due to inadequate risk assessments, putting consumers at risk of receiving unsafe or counterfeit items.
The European Commission has stepped up its investigation into Chinese-owned e-commerce giant Temu, accusing the company of failing to effectively monitor and limit the sale of illegal and potentially dangerous products on its platform.
According to preliminary findings released Monday, the Commission alleges that Temu’s internal risk assessment, conducted last October, was significantly flawed and underestimated the threat to EU consumers.
Brussels’ analysis, which included test purchases and a broader review of user exposure, found that EU-based shoppers are routinely at risk of receiving counterfeit or unsafe goods, including products as sensitive as baby toys and electronic devices.
The Commission noted that Temu has not met the legal obligations outlined in the bloc’s recently enacted Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates robust checks for online marketplaces to prevent the sale of illegal or harmful content.
Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s digital chief, underscored the gravity of the situation, stating that consumer safety ‘is not negotiable in the EU.’
The DSA, widely viewed as one of the EU’s most ambitious efforts to police the digital economy, requires platforms like Temu to provide detailed risk assessments and demonstrate active measures to counter the spread of illicit products and deceptive design techniques.
In addition to the DSA probe, a parallel investigation under the EU consumer protection laws examines Temu’s alleged use of misleading marketing tactics, including fake discounts and fabricated customer reviews. These practices, according to regulators, may amount to manipulative strategies designed to trap consumers into prolonged engagement and impulsive purchases, a method sometimes referred to as ‘addictive design.’
Temu, which Chinese tech conglomerate PDD Holdings owns, has affirmed its willingness to cooperate fully with the EU regulators. It now has an opportunity to contest the Commission’s findings or propose concrete remedies.
If the platform fails to satisfy regulators, it could face steep financial penalties, up to 6% of its annual global turnover under the DSA’s enforcement mechanisms.
Source: South China Morning Post
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