By Atoyebi Nike
The European Commission has intensified its scrutiny of Chinese-owned e-commerce platform Temu, alleging the company has failed to adequately monitor illegal and unsafe products sold on its platform, in breach of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
Preliminary findings released on Monday reveal that Temu’s internal risk assessment last October was deeply flawed and failed to accurately gauge threats to EU consumers. Commission analysts said test purchases and platform reviews uncovered a pattern of counterfeit and potentially dangerous goods reaching European customers including items like baby toys and electronics.
EU Digital Commissioner Henna Virkkunen said consumer safety “is not negotiable in the EU,” stressing that Temu has not fulfilled its legal obligations under the DSA. The regulation demands detailed risk assessments and strong enforcement systems to prevent the sale of illegal goods and deceptive content.
Temu is also under a separate EU consumer protection investigation over alleged misleading marketing tactics, including fake discounts and reviews practices that regulators describe as “addictive design” aimed at keeping users engaged.
Owned by Chinese tech firm PDD Holdings, Temu has pledged to cooperate fully with EU authorities. The company may challenge the findings or offer remedial actions. However, failure to comply could result in penalties of up to 6% of its global annual revenue.
