Following preliminary analyses, The European Commission has initiated its investigation into the Chinese online retail platform Shein. Concerns were raised over the fast fashion brand being in conflict with the Digital Services Act (DSA) for its addictive design, unclear algorithmic system and the selling of illegal products.
Requests for information back in June 2024, as well as February and November of 2025 were sent and flagged by the Commission due to reports followed up on by Shein. The company is being questioned for its adherence with DSA in relation to consumer safety and child protection. Coimisiún na Meán the Irish media regulator will be involved in the investigation because of Shein’s European Headquarters being based in Ireland.
The systems Shein has in place to prevent the sale of illegal products in the European Union such as; its selling of child-like sex dolls is under review for composing child sexual abuse material. Shein responded saying they will be banning the sale of all sex dolls on its site.
“Over the last few months, we have continued to invest significantly in measures to strengthen our compliance with the DSA.”
Other focuses of the investigation include the parameters for algorithmic recommendations to users and risk of addiction based on the design of the company. The DSA is looking for a release from Shein of its recommender systems and is questioning the morality of its reward based on user engagement system. Arguing that its addictive features could have a negative impact.
It is expected that the Commission will proceed to gather more evidence either through additional requests for information from Shein and its third parties and will persist in monitoring the companies’ actions. The Commission is inclined to accept measures made by Shein to resolve the situation and clarifies that opening of an investigation does not suggest any decided outcome.
The DSA will not set any legal deadline for when we can expect this investigation to end. The length of these legal actions is dependent on the complexity of the case, the cooperation of Shein to remedy their actions, and continuous protection of consumers’ rights.
The Commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, Henna Virkkunen made a statement saying:
“The Digital Services Act keeps shoppers safe, protects their wellbeing, and empowers them with information about the algorithms they are interacting with.
“We will assess whether Shein is respecting these rules and their responsibility.”
