France Fines Shein Over €22 Million for Consumer Information Deficiencies

(Central News Agency, Paris, 3rd) France's Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) today imposed a hefty fine of €22.4 million (approximately NT$817 million) on the Chinese ultra-fast fashion e-commerce platform Shein for failing to comply with regulations related to consumer information.

Shein has objected, arguing that the fine is disproportionate.

French Minister for Small and Medium Enterprises and Trade, Serge Papin, stated: "Since discovering child sex dolls on the Shein platform, we decided not to let these platforms off the hook. We will continue to act until these platforms completely change their practices or withdraw from the market."

According to Le Figaro, the penalty targets two entities: ISSL, which manages the Shein website, was fined €16.7 million; and ISEL, responsible for selling Shein products, was fined €5.7 million.

Regarding ISSL, the DGCCRF imposed the penalty because the website failed to provide consumers with essential information such as the seller's name, product price, or delivery date in order confirmation emails.

Shein argued that consumers could find this information in their user accounts on the website. A platform spokesperson stated that authorities had been aware of these emails for over a year but chose not to inform the company in order to impose a high fine. The spokesperson also said the criticized practices were corrected last year.

Regarding ISEL, the DGCCRF criticized the product return policy and pointed to a period when information on the products' environmental impact was missing.

The platform spokesperson said the temporary lack of information was related to a technical issue that was proactively resolved on the day it was discovered, and before receiving the DGCCRF administrative penalty. The spokesperson stated that Shein contests these administrative penalties, arguing they are clearly disproportionate and discriminatory.

However, for Papin, "We are not punishing a few errors, but a pattern: some e-commerce platforms do not comply with our rules, do not protect consumers, while our merchants follow the rules."

Over the past year, Chinese e-commerce platforms have repeatedly faced heavy fines. In July last year, following a DGCCRF investigation that found misleading commercial practices, Shein agreed to pay a €40 million fine. Last week, Chinese e-commerce platform Temu was fined €200 million by the European Commission for failing to comply with obligations to restrict the sale of illegal goods. (Editor: Chen Huiping) 1150603