MEPs Push Brussels to Crack Down on Unsafe E-Commerce Platforms After Shein Scandal

Key Takeaways

• Parliament Calls for Action: MEPs warn that unsafe and illegal products on platforms like Shein, Temu, AliExpress, and Wish demand stronger enforcement of EU law.
• Suspension on the Table: Lawmakers say temporarily shutting down platforms for repeated or systemic breaches shouldn’t be treated as a last resort.
• Business Model Under Scrutiny: MEPs criticize fast-fashion platforms for prioritizing speed and profits at the expense of safety, labor rights, and sustainability.
• Tougher Sanctions Needed: Parliament urges the Commission to move faster and use dissuasive penalties, rather than prolonged dialogue, to protect consumers.
• Strengthening Border Controls: Lawmakers call for greater resources for customs and surveillance authorities, plus a harmonised EU handling fee to fund enforcement.

Deep Dive

Europe’s lawmakers say they’ve seen enough. After a disturbing scandal in France involving child-like sex dolls and weapons sold on Shein’s marketplace, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are demanding the European Commission stop negotiating and start enforcing the rules.

On Wednesday, Parliament adopted a resolution, passed by a show of hands, warning that platforms like Shein, Temu, AliExpress, and Wish are exposing EU consumers to illegal and unsafe products at alarming scale. For lawmakers, the recent French case wasn’t an isolated failure. It was the latest signal that the online marketplace model, built on break-neck speed and rock-bottom prices, is colliding with European safety standards.

MEPs labeled the French events a serious violation of EU law and a direct risk to minors, accusing the current enforcement approach of moving far too slowly. Investigations by the Commission, they said, can drag on for years while dangerous goods continue to reach consumers’ doorsteps.

EU officials are being pressed to take swift, decisive action under two cornerstone frameworks, the Digital Services Act and the General Product Safety Regulation, which place responsibility on platforms to ensure that what they sell is legal, traceable, and safe.

Suspension Shouldn’t Be a Last Resort

The resolution pushes one of the strongest tools regulators have, temporary suspension of a platform’s operations within the EU, and suggests it should be used more often in the face of repeated, serious, or systemic violations.

In other words: if a marketplace repeatedly puts consumers at risk, it shouldn’t be business as usual.

Beyond product safety, MEPs called out the economics behind these platforms. An avalanche of small parcels from non-EU retailers floods customs every day, many containing counterfeit, unsafe, or non-compliant goods. Lawmakers also pointed to the human and environmental toll, such as underpaid labor, designer knock-offs, and piles of textile waste generated by ever-cheaper “ultra-fast fashion.”

The platforms’ low-cost appeal, they warned, too often masks a race-to-the-bottom model that the EU can’t ignore.

Enforcement Needs More Bite and More Resources

To restore control at the border, Parliament wants customs and market surveillance authorities equipped with more staff, more funding, and more digital capabilities. That includes:

• Additional budget through the next multiannual financial framework
• A harmonized, WTO-compliant handling fee to support supervisory checks
• Faster rollout of the revised Union Customs Code

And critically, lawmakers argue that sanctions must hurt enough to stop illegal behaviors, not simply become a cost of doing business.

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