Shein must verify age for sex toys, says French court
A court in Paris ordered Shein to implement age verification measures for all adult products sold through its website in France.
It also set a fine of 10,000 euros ($A17,727) for any violations following an uproar over childlike sex dolls being sold on the marketplace.
The decision comes as authorities have forced Shein to tighten monitoring of products sold by third parties on its site, and France has cracked down on Shein and other platforms.
However, the court rejected the French government’s request to suspend Shein’s website as a whole for three months, saying this would be “disproportionate”; This decision eased some of the pressure the Chinese online platform faced in France.
“We welcome this decision. We remain committed to and are intensifying efforts to continually improve our control processes in close cooperation with the French authorities, with the aim of establishing some of the most stringent standards in the industry,” a Shein spokesperson said in a statement following the decision.
“Our priority remains protecting French consumers and ensuring compliance with local laws and regulations,” they added.
Shein has been at the center of a scandal since France’s consumer watchdog found sex dolls that resembled children and banned the sale of weapons on its marketplace, leading to a government attempt to suspend the platform.
The court on Friday said Shein must implement measures to verify age, which are more than a simple statement that could prevent minors from accessing products of a pornographic nature.
The French government began proceedings to suspend Shein on November 5, less than two hours after his first brick-and-mortar store opened at the BHV store in Paris.
Shein has suspended its marketplace in France where third-party sellers list its products, but its site selling Shein-branded clothing remains accessible. The company also stopped selling sex toys on marketplaces around the world.
The court said in a statement that Shein removed the products quickly and that a lack of systematic control, oversight or regulation was not proven.
France’s consumer regulator said last month that it had found five platforms – AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Joom and Temu – were selling illegal products in France. But none of them suspended their marketplaces, and the government did not target them as much as Shein.
At a hearing earlier this month, Shein’s lawyers argued he faced discriminatory treatment and a “crusade” against him by politicians and the media.
France has also pushed European authorities to crack down on Shein in recent weeks, calling for a formal investigation under EU law regulating online platforms.
The European Commission requested more information from Shein about the illegal products but stopped short of launching an investigation.
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