The EU on Tuesday launched an investigation into Chinese fast-fashion platform Shein, alleging its site has an “addictive design” and markets sexually inappropriate content.
Shein, along with other Chinese e-commerce companies, has made inroads in Europe in recent years, drawing scrutiny. French authorities sought to suspend Shein in November hours after it opened its first physical store in Paris; the site was accused of selling “childlike” sex dolls.
Exactly two years after Brussels’ landmark regulation for online services went into effect, Europe is ramping up pressure on large platforms. Spain on Tuesday ordered an investigation into Meta, X, and TikTok over allegations that AI-generated sexual images are proliferating, and Ireland opened a probe into X’s chatbot.