France Urges European Union To Investigate Shein Over Selling Illegal Sex Dolls And Weapons

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (photo; x @jnbarrot)

JAKARTA - The French government is increasing pressure on the European Union to immediately open an official investigation into China's fast fashion giant Shein. This is deemed necessary, after the sale of sex dolls resembles children and banned weapons on its online platform.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Shein had clearly violated European rules and urged the European Commission to act quickly. European Commission must take steps. Can't wait any longer," Barrut said in an interview with Franceinfo radio, Thursday 6 November.

France's move came after the country's government announced efforts to ban Shein due to these illegal products. In response, Shein suspended its marketplace operations in France to review the third-party seller's surveillance system, as well as stop selling sex dolls around the world.

In an official letter sent late Wednesday and shared to the media on Thursday, the Minister of Finance, Roland Lescure, and the Minister of Digital Affairs, Anne Le Henanff, warned the European Commission and member states of the "serious violations" that occurred in France. They also considered that similar risks might occur in other EU countries.

"France asks the European Commission to conduct an investigation without delay in order to find out how the sale of these illegal objects could occur on the platform," the letter wrote.

A spokesman for the European Commission confirmed that it had received the letter and stated the agency would assess and decide the next steps.

Shein is currently classified as the Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), which gives the European Commission the full authority to investigate and impose sanctions if it is proven to violate European digital law. The maximum fine could reach 6 percent of the company's total global income.

Earlier this year, the European Commission also asked Shein to submit internal documents regarding the risk of selling illegal goods and content on its platform.

Separately, prosecutors in Paris are investigating a number of other e-commerce platforms including Temu, AliExpress, and Wish for alleged violations that allow minors to access pornographic content through these sites.

This case reinforces pressure on Shein, who has previously been criticized for the issue of supply chain transparency and labor exploitation. Now, the new spotlight does not come from the fashion world, but from the European digital courtroom which is increasingly firm on global online giants.