The European Commission has fined Chinese shopping website Temu €200 million (£173 million) for failing to prevent the sale of illegal and dangerous products. The penalty, the highest ever imposed under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), follows a 19-month investigation that found consumers were highly likely to encounter unsafe items on the platform.
An unpublished mystery shopping exercise commissioned by the EU revealed a 'high percentage' of unsafe baby products and a 'very high percentage' of dangerous chargers, as well as unsafe clothes and jewellery. Consumer groups across Europe had previously reported baby toys with choking hazards, dummy chains that could strangle children, jewellery containing dangerous metals like lead, clothes with banned chemicals, and chargers posing risks of burns, electric shocks, or fire.
The commission also criticised Temu for inadequate controls on its website design, noting that recommender systems and influencer promotions 'could amplify dissemination risks of illegal products'. A senior EU official said the commission found a particularly serious breach of the DSA related to an inadequate risk assessment on unsafe products that Temu carried out in 2024.
The fine represents a fraction of Temu's revenues; its parent company, PDD Holdings, reported global revenues of $54 billion (£40 billion) in 2024. Under the DSA, a company can be fined up to 6% of global turnover. The commission is continuing other investigations into Temu, including the sale of illegal products, addictive design, and data access for researchers.
Temu, which has 130 million consumers in the EU, said it disagrees with the decision and considers the fine disproportionate. A spokesperson stated that the decision relates to its first DSA assessment in 2024 and does not reflect current systems, adding that Temu has since taken further steps to strengthen risk assessment and user protection. Temu has until 28 August to submit an action plan to the commission.
