In parallel with the publication on the challenges of e-commerce (see other news), on Wednesday 5 February the Commission announced the launch of a joint and coordinated investigation with the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network against Shein for breaching EU consumer protection rules.
The e-commerce platform, already in the EU’s sights under the Digital Services Act (DSA) (see EUROPE 13442/6), is the target of a series of objections under several European directives: the Unfair Contract Terms Directive, the Price Indication Directive, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the Consumer Rights Directive.
The CPC has “been informed of a reasonable doubt of infringement for non-compliance with certain provisions. We are not there yet, but Shein has been informed of the imminent opening of an investigation”, explained a Commission official.
The details of the charges against the platform are not yet known. In November 2024, the CPC and the Commission launched a similar action against Temu (see EUROPE 13521/10), accused of breaching European consumer law in a number of ways – false discounts, high-pressure sales, missing and misleading information... – undermining consumers’ rights. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)