European Union imposes stricter rules on Chinese fashion web shop Shein

The European Commission has added Shein to its list of ‘very large online platforms’. The Chinese fashion giant will now have to comply with stricter rules concerning the protection of its online users. 

Shein, known for its fast fashion and especially popular among teenagers on social media, will face tougher rules under the Digital Services Act (DSA), one of the EU’s groundbreaking new laws against online platforms. The Chinese fashion app has been added to the European Commission’s list of digital companies that are large enough to come under stricter supervision. 

By being added to the list, Shein must comply with stricter rules by the end of August. This includes the better protection of online (and underage) users by preventing sales of counterfeit or unsafe products and the setting of age rules, among other things. 

Shein joins more than 20 other platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, AliExpress, and YouTube, that have already been designated as very large online platforms. The move comes as the EU is tightening its oversight of Chinese tech companies. Earlier this week, the bloc opened a second probe on TikTok as it suspected a breach of its Digital Services Act (DSA) by the video-sharing platform.

Shein initially was a retailer selling its own products but last year became a platform when it started an online marketplace selling goods from other manufacturers. The company started targeting European countries in the early 2010s and has said an average of 108 million Europeans visit the app every month.

^{The Shein app © Richard A. Brooks / AFP}