The French government is putting its foot down, moving to suspend fast-fashion giant Shein after regulators found some seriously disturbing items on their platform: adult sex dolls resembling children and weapons. This comes right after Shein’s grand opening of its first physical store in Paris, which already sparked a lot of outrage.
According to Reuters, France’s consumer watchdog uncovered these illegal listings on Saturday, adding fuel to the fire surrounding the company’s expansion into one of Europe’s biggest fashion markets.
France’s finance ministry confirmed that proceedings kicked off on Wednesday, ordered directly by the prime minister. “The government is starting the process to suspend Shein for as long as it takes for them to show authorities that everything on their platform is finally following our laws and regulations,” the statement said.
French Watchdog Discovers Illegal Content on Shein’s Platform
This discovery by the French consumer watchdog agency has led to an official review of Shein’s content moderation and marketplace policies.
Officials stated that these listings – including sex dolls that looked like children and unregulated weapons – violate national consumer protection and public safety laws.
These findings only add to existing criticisms of Shein’s business ethics and their lax content oversight, especially now that they’re trying to expand their European footprint with a permanent retail store in Paris.
The government is demanding that Shein prove they’re fully compliant with French law before they can continue operating in the country.
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Shein Responds to France’s Suspension Proceedings
In response, Shein claims they immediately banned the sellers responsible for the illegal items and implemented a global ban on selling sex dolls across all their markets. They also announced they would temporarily shut down their French marketplace to review how third-party sellers are operating on the site.
The company has pledged to cooperate with French authorities to get back in compliance, saying they’re taking the findings “seriously” and acknowledge the gravity of the violations.
French Government Threatens Nationwide Suspension of Shein
The finance ministry says they plan to suspend Shein’s website across the entire country, which is one of the strongest actions ever taken against a global e-commerce platform in France.
Officials confirmed the initial review of findings will be done within 48 hours, after which the government will decide if the suspension will be permanent or conditional on compliance improvements.
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