Temu Fined More Than $230 Million in EU Over Product Risks — 2nd Update

By Edith Hancock

The European Union handed Temu a 200 million euro ($232.5 million) fine, saying consumers in the bloc were very likely to come across illegal items on the Chinese e-commerce group's platform.

The fine marks the latest move by European officials to tackle growing concerns about Chinese companies' practices. Europe is grappling with a surge of Chinese imports that has been exacerbated by U.S. tariffs and the end of a loophole that previously allowed low-value packages to enter the U.S. duty-free.

Chinese ecommerce giants are also facing more scrutiny in Europe after criticism last year over Shein's online listing of sex dolls that resembled children. Shein said it had since taken down those listings and tightened controls.

The European Commission--the EU's executive arm--said Temu hadn't done enough to assess the risk of unsafe products on its website, adding that some chargers sold on the platform failed safety tests, while many baby toys were made with chemicals that exceed EU safety limits or could pose choking hazards.

The EU regulator also said that the company did not adequately assess risks that its recommender system and influencer-led promotions could amplify the visibility of illegal products to consumers. Officials said the decision to fine the company was based on information shared by third parties as well as an undercover shopping exercise that an independent organization carried out on behalf of the commission.

Temu--a subsidiary of PDD Holdings--said that it respects the objectives of the law but disagrees with the commission's verdict and considers the fine disproportionate.

The penalty marks the culmination of a probe into the company that began in October 2024, and the second time the commission has issued a fine under the Digital Services Act, a European law governing online content. Officials handed Elon Musk's X platform a roughly $140 million penalty late last year under the law, which compels large online platforms like Temu to prevent illegal or dangerous products being sold in the EU. Companies can receive fines of up to 6% of their annual worldwide turnover if they are deemed to breach rules.

Companies classed as very large online platforms under the law must carry out risk assessments to ensure their services are safe. The commission said in 2024 that Temu fell short of EU standards and underestimated how often consumers see illegal products.

"The decision relates to our first DSA assessment in 2024 and does not reflect the current state of our systems," a Temu spokesperson said, saying that the company engaged constructively with the commission and has since gone further to strengthen risk assessment and user protection on its platform.

The regulator is still looking into other aspects of Temu's platform including what it called a potentially addictive design.

"Risk assessments are not box‐ticking exercises--they are the backbone of the DSA," Henna Virkkunen, the bloc's top tech regulator, said in a statement Thursday. "Temu's risk assessment underestimates concrete risks, lacks specificity, is not grounded in solid evidence, and is not comprehensive," she said.

Temu now has until Aug. 28 to offer the commission an action plan setting out how it will remedy the commission's concerns over its risk assessment. The commission will then decide whether the company has done enough to rectify the issues it identified in two months.

Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 28, 2026 08:02 ET (12:02 GMT)