The French Government has taken legal steps to suspend the Chinese e-commerce Shein platform in France.
According to WEI Globally, on the basis of reports from Reuters, the judicial procedure was taken in connection with the disclosure that on a trade platform owned by Shein, external retailers offered illegal products. A case under accelerated judicial procedure which allows the court to issue preventive orders to prevent harm caused by online content.
The court decision is expected in the coming weeks
The French authorities dispute the deficiency of control by the company. According to the French Ministry of Finance, Shein, having advanced method means and the usage of artificial intelligence, has the method ability to carry out checks, but does not. Now the court will gotta decide whether the suspension order is legitimate and compatible with EU law, which treats trading platforms as intermediaries. These platforms, although not straight liable for third-party products, are, however, required to immediately dispose of illegal products upon detection.
The proceedings besides called upon the largest net service providers (Bouygues Telecom, Free, Orange and SFR) to possibly block access to the Shein site. The court decision is expected in the coming weeks. At the same time, France is pushing the European Commission to launch a formal investigation against Shein besides at EU level. Related concerns regarding the quality or conformity of products besides appeared in relation to offers on AliExpress, Joom, Wish, Temu and Amazon platforms.
International purchasing platforms will gotta invest in marketplace verification and quality control, which will rise their costs in the EU
According to WEI Globally, the Shein case in France could become a precedent for the full EU, strengthening the enforcement of DSA rules besides in Poland. National institutions, specified as UOKiK, will gain an argument for much stricter global player control. global purchasing platforms will gotta invest in the verification of sellers and quality control, which will rise their costs in the EU. This will mean higher prices and poorer offer besides for Polish customers, due to the fact that the model of inexpensive purchases will become harder to maintain.
At the same time, the influence of the State on the freedom of economical activity will increase, and the precedent for the temporary ‘off’ of platforms can be easy expanded. For the market, this means greater protection of local retailers, but besides the hazard of excessive regulation, which will affect competition and availability of products in Poland.