E-commerce scandals: MEPs want faster enforcement and dissuasive sanctions  

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• Recent events in France a “severe breach of EU law” 
• Commission should move from dialogue to applying the law  
• Temporary suspension of an online platform should be possible in instances of severe, systemic non-compliance  
• MEPs criticise a business model driven by speed, profit maximisation and excessive consumption  

The recent Shein controversy in France stems from the inadequate oversight of e-commerce platforms, requiring urgent enforcement of EU laws and significant reforms.

On Wednesday, Parliament adopted a resolution by a show of hands addressing the urgent issue of illegal and unsafe products sold to EU consumers via e-commerce platforms, particularly non-EU marketplaces like Shein, Temu, AliExpress, and Wish. It concludes a parliamentary debate sparked by a scandal in France around the sale of child-like sex dolls and weapons and highlights the systemic failures in platform oversight and insufficient preventive mechanisms.

Decisive enforcement of EU legislation

Parliament considers the recent events in France a serious breach of EU law and a threat to the safety of consumers and minors in particular, and urges the European Commission and EU member states to move from dialogue to decisive and timely enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR).

Temporary shutdown of non-compliant platforms

MEPs deplore the slow progress of the Commission’s investigations into non-EU online platforms, which last months or even years. They insist that online marketplaces’ operations should be temporarily suspended in cases of “repeated, serious, or systemic breaches of EU law”, such as in the case of Shein in France. This option should no longer be treated as an exceptional, last-resort measure, according to the text.

Reinforcement of customs and market surveillance authorities

MEPs are deeply concerned with the high-volume of non-compliant small parcels from Shein and other non-EU platforms, which they believe to be exacerbated by a speed-driven, profit-maximising and consumption-excessive business model. They also point to the underpaid labour, unlawful imitation of designers’ work, the marketing of unsafe and non-compliant products, and the accumulation of textile waste behind the artificially low prices offered by those companies.

The resolution calls for a significant increase of financial and operational support for customs and market surveillance authorities, including through increased allocations under the upcoming multiannual financial framework, as well as the introduction of a harmonised EU-level WTO-compliant handling fee (to cover supervisory costs)

The text emphasises the need for more dissuasive sanctions, bringing forward the implementing timeline of the revised Union Customs Code, and for the consideration of new regulatory reforms and obligations for online marketplaces to close loopholes and ensure these platforms are held accountable for non-compliant goods entering the EU market.