The European Commission has imposed a 200 million euro fine on the Chinese e-commerce platform Temu for serious violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The direct reason for the fine is the company's weak risk management, as Temu has neglected its obligation to identify, analyze, and assess systemic risks caused by illegal products sold on its platform, as well as harm to consumers. The decision published today concludes a long investigation process, which was launched by the Commission in October 2024 and whose preliminary results, warning of non-compliance, were received in July last year.
The Commission's investigations revealed that Temu's risk assessment conducted in 2024 was insufficient and based merely on general industry knowledge, instead of the company collecting evidence of the actual risks of its own service.
Mystery shopping conducted by authorities indeed showed that consumers in the EU area are very likely to encounter illegal and dangerous products on Temu.
A very large proportion of the chargers among the tested products failed basic safety tests, and a significant number of baby toys contained chemicals exceeding permitted limits or posed a choking hazard due to easily detachable parts. The Commission also notes that Temu had not assessed at all how its own recommendation systems and influencer marketing programs amplify the spread of dangerous products.
"Risk assessments are not box‐ticking exercises - they are the backbone of the DSA. Temu's risk assessment underestimates concrete risks, lacks specificity, is not grounded in solid evidence, and is not comprehensive. It leaves regulators, users, and the public in the dark about the true scale of potential harm posed by illegal products sold on Temu. Now it is time for Temu to comply with the law", commented Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy.
Following the fine, Temu now has until August 28, 2026, to submit an action plan to the Commission, in accordance with Article 75 of the Digital Services Act, outlining precise corrective measures to bring its risk assessment up to the level required by law.
Should the company fail to comply with the upcoming non-compliance decision, it faces new periodic penalty payments.
