Online trade –
The EU accuses the giant Temu of raping its digital legislation
The European Commission denounces the lack of control over the products offered online, in particular babies toys.
An EU survey, still in progress, shows that there is “a high risk for EU consumers” to find “illegal products on the platform” TEMU.
AFP
The European Commission accused the online trade site of Chinese origin on Monday Ago to violate its legislation on digital services (DSA), for lack of sufficient control over the products offered, in particular baby toys.
An EU survey, still in progress, shows that there is “a high risk for EU consumers” to find “illegal products on the platform,” said the Commission.
TEMU still has the possibility of responding, but risks a fine of up to 6% of its annual turnover if the offense is confirmed.
“According to our preliminary assessment, TEMU is far from assessing the risks for its users according to the standards required by the Digital Services Regulations (DSA),” said the European Commissioner in charge of digital, Henna Virkkunen.
The commission is particularly finger “toys for babies” and “small electronic devices” likely not to comply with European standards.
Other TEMU offenses?
Brussels intends to continue his investigation, opened in October 2024, on other alleged offenses, such as the “addictive design” of the TEMU application, with its lightning promotions and its games, as well as the possible lack of transparency in the purchasing recommendations.
TEMU, who is experiencing a dazzling progression in Europe thanks to a broken price strategy, is the international version of the Chinese mastodon of Pinduduo e-commerce, born in 2015. It offers a plethoric choice of products: clothing, toys, decoration, tools, high-tech …
In May 2024, European consumer associations had filed a complaint against the platform, notably accusing it of encouraging users to spend more.
In October, the company ensured that it had taken “important measures” and “refine” its practices “within the framework of the European regulations” on digital services. On Monday, she said “continuing to cooperate fully with the European Commission”.
Millions of TEMU users
Extremely popular in the EU despite recent arrival on the market in 2023, TEMU has 93.7 million monthly active users on average in the 27 Member States.
To protect users from potentially dangerous content or products, other DSA surveys are underway in the EU, especially on the Chinese site Aliexpress, as well as on social networks Facebook, Instagram, X (ex-Twitter) and Tiktok.
The EU also wishes to fight against the massive influx of small cheap parcels on its territory, with a proposal currently under study aimed at imposing a tax of two euros per package.
Last year, 4.6 billion packages of this type entered the EU – more than 145 per second – including 91% from China.
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