It was November 2025 when the scandalous marketing of child pornography sex dolls by Shein emerged in France. Now the European Union is launching formal proceedings under the Digital Services Act (DSA) for violations linked not only to the sale of illegal products, starting with those sex dolls, but also to the “addictive” design and lack of transparency of its recommendation systems.
The opening of the investigation follows a pre-investigation phase in which the Commission sent three different requests for information (28 June 2024, 6 February 2025 and 26 November 2025).
Now, with the formal opening of the procedure, the EU has the power to take provisional measures to block harmful practices or impose financial penalties.
The procedure falls within the application of Digital Services Actthe legislation with which Europe aims to make the entire ecosystem of digital platforms safer and more responsible. At stake are not only possible sanctions – which can reach up to 6% of global turnover – but also a broader issue: consumer safety and the social impact of the ultra-fast low-cost fashion model.
In recent years, Brussels has intensified controls on large platforms, especially those in the United States and China, while concern grows over the billions of very low-priced products that arrive on the European market every year. It is no coincidence that Temu has also already come under investigation and that the EU is working on new tariffs on small parcels coming from international e-commerce.
The Shein case also raises environmental and social issues. The company, already fined in France for deceptive commercial practices on discounts and sustainability, bases its success on very fast production guided by algorithms: millions of models placed on the market, minimum initial orders and increasing production only when demand is certain. A commercially efficient system, but often criticized for its impact on jobs, textile waste and resource consumption.
On the economic front, controversies over customs exemptions, supplier working conditions and the sustainability of the model are also complicating the group’s stock market listing plans, as the United Kingdom tries to lure the company to London to revive its financial market.
In short, now, the European investigation could therefore mark a further step forward, concerning the future of global fast fashion and the ability of institutions to place limits on a system based on rock-bottom prices, very rapid consumption and hidden impacts on the environment and rights.
