France seeks three-month suspension of Shein website in court hearing

By Florence Loeve

PARIS, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Lawyers for Chinese online platform Shein return to a Paris court on Friday for a hearing on the French government’s request to suspend the firm’s website for three months, after childlike sex dolls and banned weapons were discovered on its marketplace.

Shein disabled its marketplace – where third-party sellers list their products – in France on November 5, after authorities found the illegal items for sale, but its main site selling Shein-branded clothing remains accessible.

The French state wants the website suspended for a minimum of three months in the country, which it argues is needed for Shein to prove that its contents comply with the law. 

It has invoked Article 6.3 of France’s digital economy law, which gives a judge powers to prescribe measures with the aim of preventing or halting harm caused by online content.

France has also summoned major internet service providers Bouygues Telecom, Free, Orange and SFR to the hearing, requesting they block Shein’s website.

The court will have to decide whether a suspension is warranted, and whether it is in line with European Union law. 

In a statement last week, the Paris prosecutor’s office said a three-month suspension could be deemed “disproportionate” under the case law of the European Court of Human Rights if Shein could prove it has stopped all sales of illegal goods.

However, the prosecutor said it “fully backed” the government’s demand that Shein provide evidence of measures taken to end those sales.

France’s move comes amid broader scrutiny of Chinese giants such as Shein and Temu under the EU’s Digital Services Act, reflecting concerns about consumer safety, illegal product sales and unfair competition.

Meanwhile in the U.S., Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Monday he is investigating Shein to determine whether the fast fashion retailer violated state law related to unethical labour practices and the sale of unsafe consumer products.

(Reporting by Florence Loeve; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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