The European Union has fined Chinese e-commerce giant Temu 200 million euros for offering illegal products on its platform.
Temu “failed to identify, analyse and diligently assess the systemic risks associated with illegal products offered on its platform, as well as the harm they cause to consumers within the European Union,” the European Commission said today.
An investigation carried out by the Commission concluded that many of the products fail safety checks.
These include unsafe chargers and children’s toys that contain chemicals that exceed legal safety limits and pose a choking hazard.
“Temu’s risk assessment downplays specific risks (…) it is not based on solid evidence and is not comprehensive,”
said Commission Vice President Henna Virkunen.
“It leaves regulators, users and the public in the dark about the true scale of the potential risk posed by illegal products sold on the Temu platform. It is now time for Temu to comply with the law,” he added.
This e-commerce platform has been operating in Europe since 2023 and offers a wide range of products, from clothing to footwear and electronics, at extremely low prices. Its aggressive marketing strategies and ultra-low prices have helped it expand and compete with established companies such as Amazon.
