The European Commission has fined Chinese e-commerce platform Temu €200 million following an investigation into the sale of illegal and unsafe products on its marketplace.
The penalty comes after regulators found what they described as significant failures in Temu’s ability to identify and manage systemic risks linked to dangerous goods being sold to consumers across the European Union.
According to the Commission, an investigation launched in October 2024 concluded that Temu had not properly assessed risks required under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which governs how very large online platforms operate in the bloc.
Officials said the platform failed to adequately evaluate the presence of unsafe items, including defective phone chargers and hazardous baby toys identified during a series of “mystery shopping” tests carried out by an independent inspection body.
The Commission found that a high proportion of chargers purchased from the platform did not meet basic electrical safety standards, while many toys posed risks due to small detachable parts or chemical levels exceeding legal safety thresholds.
In its findings, the Commission also criticised Temu’s platform design, arguing that its recommendation algorithms and promotional systems — including influencer-driven advertising — may have amplified exposure to illegal products without sufficient safeguards.
EU officials said the company’s risk assessments were inadequate and failed to properly reflect the scale of potential consumer harm.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s Vice-President for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said risk evaluation is a core requirement under EU law.
“The risk assessments are not mere administrative formalities; they are one of the pillars of the DSA.”
She added: “Temu’s risk assessment minimises real risks, lacks precision, is not based on strong evidence and remains incomplete.”
“It leaves regulators, users and the public unaware of the real extent of potential harm caused by illegal products sold on Temu. It is now time for Temu to comply with the law.”
Under the ruling, Temu has until 28 August 2026 to submit a compliance plan outlining how it intends to fix the issues identified by regulators. The European Board for Digital Services will then review the plan before the Commission issues a final decision and enforcement timeline.
Failure to comply could result in additional penalties on top of the €200 million fine.
The Commission said it will continue monitoring Temu’s compliance with the Digital Services Act as part of wider oversight of large online platforms operating within the EU.
