Today, the European Parliament adopted a joint resolution on protecting EU consumers from the harmful practices of certain E-commerce platforms. This follows reports from French authorities alerting that child-like sex dolls, weapons, and other illegal products and materials were being sold in Europe through non-EU online marketplaces, including Shein, Temu, AliExpress, and Wish, which are already well known for distributing large quantities of non-compliant products. At the same time, aggressive ‘Black Friday’ advertising campaigns remind us that these platforms also encourage irresponsible behaviour and overconsumption.
The S&Ds are firmly committed to guaranteeing a safe online environment for all Europeans. What is illegal offline must be illegal online. This is why, in the previous mandate, we pushed for landmark legislation including the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the AI Act, the General Product Safety Regulation and the revision of the Product Liability Directive. Our priority now is to ensure that these consumer-protection rules are fully implemented and rigorously enforced — not undermined by the Digital Omnibus.
Pierre Jouvet, S&D IMCO committee member said:
“Every day, 11 million packages from Chinese online platforms enter Europe – unchecked, opaque and in open disregard of our rules. The shocking discovery in France that child-pornography dolls and weapons were being sold on Shein shows that this is not a series of mistakes or isolated abuses. It is a systematic, organised violation of European standards.
“These platforms have become a Trojan horse, bypassing our social, health and environmental protections while undermining our industries and endangering our children. Today, the facts are clear to all of us – ignoring them makes us complicit.
“Shein must be suspended from the European market without delay. We call for the immediate application of Article 51 of the Digital Services Regulation. Shein has no place in the EU.
“I am also calling for the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry to understand why our laws are not being enforced and why the Commission has failed to apply the sanctions already in place. Europe must stop being passive; it must act and protect. The era of impunity is over.”
Laura Ballarín Cereza, S&D IMCO committee coordinator said:
“The S&D Group will continue to fight for stronger liability for online platforms regarding the products, services, and content they make accessible to consumers. Platforms cannot profit from risk while avoiding responsibility.
“The upcoming Digital Fairness Act will be a key opportunity to tackle dark patterns, addictive design features, deceptive influencer marketing and fake or misleading online reviews. We, in the S&D Group, demand an ambitious proposal that truly protects consumers.
“We have worked tirelessly to reinforce the liability of online marketplaces, to ensure the possibility of suspending non-EU platforms that violate our rules, and to underline the urgent need for robust enforcement of EU legislation against unsafe and non-compliant products entering Europe from third countries.
“These non-compliant products do more than violate the law – they endanger consumers and undermine fair competition, harming European companies, especially SMEs. Our message is clear: Europe must guarantee a level playing field and protect its citizens. We will not stop until EU laws are fully respected.”
