The European Commission has issued a fine of €200 million to Chinese online retailer Temu for its failure to prevent the sale of products illegal in Europe.
It has been reported that the company failed to “diligently identify, analyse, and assess the systemic risks of illegal products being offered on its platform and the resulting harm to consumers”.
According to a press release issued by the European Commission, Temu was found guilty of falling short of the standards laid out in the Digital Services Act.
Temu is said to have “seriously underestimated how often EU consumers are likely to encounter illegal items. Evidence from a mystery shopping exercise included in the Commission’s investigation shows that a very high percentage of the selected chargers failed basic safety tests, while a high percentage of tested baby toys posed safety risks oof medium to high severity, as they contain chemicals exceeding legal safety limits or pose suffocation hazards due to detachable parts.”
The Commission has said that the fined issues was “calculated taking into account the nature of the infringement, its gravity in terms of affected Eu users, and its duration. Failing to conduct proper risk assessments– one of the cornerstones of the DSA’s architecture – is a particularly serious infringement of the DSA.”
Temu has been given until 28 August 2026 to submit an action plan to the Commission.
The plan must set out measures to remedy the breach of its risk-assessment obligations. The European Board for Digital Services will have one month from receipt of the plan to issue its opinion. The Commission will then have a further month to adopt its final decision and set a reasonable period for implementation.
