cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/52742292
Temu was hit with a 200 million euro ($232 million) fine Thursday after a European Union investigation found the Chinese online retailer failed to protect consumers from illegal products like toxic or hazardous toys and unsafe electronics.
The 27-nation EU’s fine follows preliminary findings last year that Temu was exposing consumers to a high risk of products sold on its platform like baby toys and small electronics that didn’t comply with EU consumer safety rules.
The bloc’s executive arm issued the penalty under the Digital Services Act, or DSA, a wide-ranging rulebook that requires online platforms to do more to keep internet users safe from harmful content or dodgy goods, under the threat of hefty fines.
It’s the second time Brussels has issued a fine under three-year-old DSA, following a $120 million penalty last year for Elon Musk’s social media site X.
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The European Commission said Temu failed to identify, analyze and assess the systemic risks of illegal goods for sale on the platform and the resulting harm to European consumers.
Investigators had carried out a “mystery shopping exercise” that turned up a number of “non-compliant” products, including many electronic device chargers that failed basic safety tests. They also found a very high percentage of baby toys that posed safety risks, either because they contained chemicals at levels that exceeded safety limits or because they had parts that came off and could be a suffocation risk.
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Risk assessments are “not box‐ticking exercises,” European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkunnen said.
“Temu’s risk assessment underestimates concrete risks, lacks specificity, is not grounded in solid evidence, and is not comprehensive,” she said in a prepared statement. “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.”
Temu has until the end of August to submit an “action plan” to remedy the problem. It could be hit with additional daily, weekly or monthly fines if it fails to comply.
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Who in their right mind is buying products for their child or baby from Temu lol? I guess sadly a lot
Or Amazon these days. People also have no qualms about ordering electronic gizmos that run on mains power and have no certifications at all, etc. It’s cheap and the right shape, it’s all that matters.
Which is a good example for why individualizing regulation does not work when it goes against the tangible material incentives of individuals. E.g. it’s cheap and I need a phone charger.
This and a lot more has to be regulated on national basis and not let through the border when not compliant. We have clothing with heavy metals coming in (Canada). No one tests it, no spot checks, nothing. When I ask people about this they are shocked Health Canada or CBSA do not protect them. I get “But how can it be for sale if it’s dangerous?”
my mil buys BAGS of total junk from temu for every xmas and birthday our kid has. it is obnoxious
good.
now do Amazon.
What percent of weekly sales is that?
About time
I’ve never bought (and probably will never buy) anything from Temu because they sell a lot of cheap crap, but I’ve gotta say I find their business model fascinating.
LoL. No one buys from Temu because of the quality.
Where else can you get a 2TB USB stick for 8 Euro for when you need a 16GB stick?
You’re lucky if the stick actually has 2TB and it isn’t just lying to you
I think that was the joke there
On re-read, I think you’re right 😉
A thrift store. No, really.
She was Karving her initials on the m00se with the sharpened end of an interspace t00thbrush given by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian m0vies: “The H0t Hands of an Oslo Dentist”, “Fillings of Passion”, “The Huge M0lars of Horst Nordfink”.
True but you don’t expect it to have toxic materials or burst into flames…
They should fine European customers instead and order them back to remedial basic education for being dumb enough to order junk from Temu
