What's happened
France is investigating major online platforms including Vinted, Shein, AliExpress, Temu, and Wish for allowing illicit and inappropriate content accessible to minors. Authorities focus on illegal products and potential exploitation of children, amid broader efforts to regulate foreign e-commerce giants operating in France.
What's behind the headline?
The investigation underscores France's increasing assertiveness in regulating foreign e-commerce platforms. The focus on platforms like Vinted, Shein, AliExpress, Temu, and Wish reveals a strategic effort to curb illegal content and protect minors. The use of sales of ordinary items, such as clothing, to direct children to pornographic sites indicates a sophisticated exploitation tactic. This crackdown aligns with broader EU initiatives, including new customs duties on low-value parcels from China, aiming to slow the influx of illegal goods. The investigation also exposes the challenge of regulating global online marketplaces that often operate across jurisdictions with varying enforcement standards. The outcome will likely set a precedent for stricter international cooperation and platform accountability, impacting how these companies manage content and product listings in France and beyond.
What the papers say
According to The Independent, France's Children’s Rights Commission has asked watchdog Arcom to examine allegations of illegal content and exploitation on platforms like Vinted, which has no age-verification procedures. The article highlights concerns over predators using clothing sales to direct minors to porn sites, with French authorities expanding investigations to platforms like Shein, AliExpress, Temu, and Wish. France 24 reports that French regulators are probing these platforms for violations related to illicit products, including childlike sex dolls, and are urging the EU to impose sanctions. The articles emphasize that these investigations are part of a broader effort to combat illegal online sales and protect children, with France taking a leading role in scrutinizing foreign e-commerce giants amid rising concerns over illegal and harmful content online.
How we got here
Recent investigations in France reveal concerns over illegal and inappropriate content on international e-commerce platforms. Authorities are scrutinizing how these platforms, often from China or the US, may be facilitating access to illicit products and content, especially targeting minors. This follows previous warnings and investigations into platforms like Shein for selling childlike sex dolls and other illegal items, amid broader European efforts to regulate online sales and protect consumers.
Go deeper
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AliExpress is an online retail service based in China owned by the Alibaba Group. Launched in 2010, it is made up of small businesses in China and other locations, such as Singapore, that offer products to international online buyers.
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Temu is an online marketplace operated by e-commerce company PDD Holdings, which is owned by Colin Huang. It offers heavily discounted consumer goods, mostly shipped to consumers directly from China. By April 2025, the platform had expanded its operations
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Shein is a Chinese online fast fashion retailer. It was founded in 2008 by Chris Xu in Nanjing, China. The company is known for its affordably priced apparel. In its early stages, Shein was more of a drop shipping business than a retailer.
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eBay Inc. is an American multinational e-commerce corporation based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995, and became a notable success
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country consisting of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories.