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EU Cracks Down on Temu Over Illegal Product Listings

By  |  July 28, 2025

The European Union has escalated its scrutiny of Chinese-owned e-commerce platform Temu, citing significant shortcomings in the company’s efforts to prevent the sale of illegal and potentially dangerous goods within the bloc.

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    According to Bloomberg, the European Commission—the EU’s executive arm—said on Monday that a preliminary investigation had uncovered that Temu, which is operated by Chinese conglomerate PDD Holdings Inc., violated the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA is a sweeping set of regulations aimed at curbing harmful content and unlawful products online.

    In particular, EU officials raised concerns over Temu’s failure to accurately assess and mitigate the risks posed by its marketplace. A risk assessment submitted by the company in October was deemed inadequate, and the Commission’s own testing revealed that consumers in the EU are exposed to a high likelihood of receiving unsafe or counterfeit goods, including electronics and children’s toys.

    Per Bloomberg, the Commission further alleged that Temu employs design techniques that encourage compulsive shopping behavior and does little to prevent the listing of unlawful merchandise. The company is also under a separate EU investigation related to consumer protection laws, which is focused on what regulators called “problematic practices” like fake reviews and misleading discounts.

    Related: Temu in the Spotlight as Part of Broader Amazon Pricing Probe

    Temu now faces a choice: it can either respond to the EU’s findings with counterarguments or propose measures to fix the issues flagged by regulators. Should the platform fail to comply, it risks fines that could total up to 6% of its annual global revenue under the terms of the DSA.

    Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s digital chief, emphasized the bloc’s commitment to consumer safety, stating that Temu’s risk management falls far below the required standards. The Commission has not disclosed a timeline for its final decision, but the case marks one of the highest-profile tests of the DSA since it came into effect.

    Source: Bloomberg