Brussels: The European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network on Monday called on Chinese e-commerce platform SHEIN to comply with European Union consumer protection laws. The call comes following a coordinated investigation at the EU level, which identified a number of commercial practices by the company deemed inconsistent with applicable regulations.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the investigation was carried out by the CPC Network, which includes national consumer protection authorities from EU member states, and uncovered "multiple violations" on the SHEIN platform. The company was requested to provide further clarification and to align its practices with relevant EU legislation.
The statement from the investigation highlighted several unlawful practices, including fake discounts, pressure selling, misleading or inaccurate information, deceptive product labeling, and false sustainability claims. The Commission also requested that SHEIN provide additional data concerning its compliance with other EU obligations, such as transparency in product rankings, reviews and ratings, and clarifying the contractual relationship between third-party sellers and the platform itself.
SHEIN has been given one month to respond to the findings and propose measures to address the identified violations. Should the company fail to comply, national authorities may proceed with enforcement actions, including the imposition of fines based on the scale of SHEIN's business operations within the EU.
This move is part of broader efforts by the European Commission to ensure a safer digital environment and runs parallel to a separate investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which seeks to guarantee transparency and fairness on major online platforms.