After a fine of 40 million euros by the repression of fraud, a new threat hovers in France on the Asian giant of ephemeral fashion, Shein: a fine of 150 million euros, this time by the digital gendarme, for having collected data from users, without their consent.
On Thursday, the rapporteur of the French authority for compliance with privacy (CNIL) requested a fine of 150 million euros against Shein for non-compliance with cookie legislation.
He criticizes the truck of e-commerce “several breaches of its obligations provided by law” concerning these computer files used to draw the navigation of Internet users and offer them targeted advertisements, in particular in terms of “user consent” and respect for this consent.
>> Read also: Public Eye reveals the hidden side of the Chinese Géant de la Mode Shein
Advertising cookies without consent
During a control carried out on August 10, 2023, the CNIL noted that the Shein website published “advertising cookies without collecting user consent” or with “a method of collecting consent which was confusing”, explained the rapporteur.
“Cookie’s refusal mechanism was failing,” he said, pointing “the negligence shown by the company, which nevertheless has the human and technical resources to be in compliance”.
He said he did not ask for “a penalty of 100,000 euros per day”, Shein having complied “recently”.
>> Read also: France inflicts a record fine of 40 million euros in Shein
![Shein risks a new fine of 150 million euros in France for its shortcomings on the Internet [REUTERS - Sisipho Skweyiya]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== "Shein risks a new fine of 150 million euros in France for its shortcomings on the Internet [REUTERS - Sisipho Skweyiya]")
The giant disputes
Present at the hearing, the spokesperson for the Asian brand in France, challenged the rapporteur’s analysis, arguing that Shein’s economic model “is not based on personal data”, but on “clothes”.
Trying to obtain a reduction in the amount of the fine, Shein challenged the legitimacy of calculating it from the global turnover of Shein, as did the rapporteur, and not that of Shein in France.
But the rapporteur replied that “we must take into account the entire” group economy “because it is Shein parent company that benefits from these advertisements”.
“Since August 2023, we have been working actively with the CNIL to guarantee our conformity and answer its questions,” said Shein, and “the limited audience of this day is a step in this continuous process”.
AFP/LBL
