Changes from resolution motion to adopted text

RemovedB100507/2025

AddedP10_TA(2025)0301

ChangedEuropean Parliament resolution on protectingProtecting EU consumers against the practices of certain e-commerce platforms: the case of child-like sex dolls, weapons and other illegal products and material

Removed(2025/2971(RSP))

AddedPE778.971

AddedEuropean Parliament resolution of 26 November 2025 on protection of EU consumers against the practices of certain e-commerce platforms: the case of child-like sex dolls, weapons and other illegal products and materials (2025/2971(RSP))

The European Parliament,

Removed– having regard to Articles 3, 114 and 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),–

Added– having regard to the report of 31 March 2022 by the Wise Persons Group on the Reform of the EU Customs Union entitled ‘Putting More Union in the European Customs: Ten proposals to make the EU Customs Union fit for a Geopolitical Europe’,

Changed– having regard to Regulation (EU)its 2022/2065position of the European13 ParliamentMarch and2024 ofon the Council of 19 October 2022proposal onfor a Singleregulation Marketof Forthe DigitalEuropean ServicesParliament and amendingof Directivethe 2000/31/ECCouncil (Digitalestablishing Servicesthe Act),Union inCustoms particularCode Articlesand 16,the 31,European 32,Union 34,Customs 35Authority, and 52repealing thereof,Regulation (EU) No 952/2013,

Removed– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 on general product safety, amending Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive (EU) 2020/1828 of the European Parliament and the Council, and repealing Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 87/357/EEC,

Removed– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on market surveillance and compliance of products and amending Directive 2004/42/EC and Regulations (EC) No 765/2008 and (EU) No 305/2011,

Removed– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004,

Removed– having regard to its resolution of 9 July 2025 on product safety and regulatory compliance in e-commerce and non-EU imports,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 February 2025 entitled ‘A comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce’ (COM(2025)0037),

Removed– having regard to the mandate of Europol, in particular the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), to identify, analyse and combat serious online criminal activities, including networks operating on the darknet that facilitate or distribute materials linked to the sexual exploitation of minors,

Added– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937,

Removed– having regard to the role of the Commission in conducting the European Union’s external relations and engaging in bilateral dialogue with third countries, including China, on matters of customs cooperation, and in combating the influx of illegal products into the internal market,

Added– having regard to Directive (EU) 2024/1760 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on corporate sustainability due diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and Regulation (EU) 2023/2859,

Removed– having regard to the proposal for a regulation on the safety of toys and repealing Directive 2009/48/EC (COM(2023)0462),

Added– having regard to the report of April 2024 by Enrico Letta entitled ‘Much more than a market: Speed, Security, Solidarity – Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens’,

Added– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act) (DSA),

Added– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act) (DMA),

Added– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 on general product safety, amending Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive (EU) 2020/1828 of the European Parliament and the Council, and repealing Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 87/357/EEC (GPSR),

Added– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on market surveillance and compliance of products and amending Directive 2004/42/EC and Regulations (EC) No 765/2008 and (EU) No 305/2011 (MSR),

Added– having regard to Directive (EU) 2024/2853 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2024 on liability for defective products and repealing Council Directive 85/374/EEC,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

Change 1

RemovedA. whereas e-commerce has transformed how consumers purchase goods and engage with businesses worldwide, unlocking unprecedented opportunities; whereas e-commerce platforms are subject to specific obligations designed to address concerns related to consumer rights, health, safety and security; whereas the French market surveillance authorities led an investigation proving that the platform Shein placed child-like sex dolls, weapons and other illegal products and material on the EU market;

Added– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on International Trade,

RemovedB. whereas the recommendation through algorithmic systems or third-party seller listings, of products or representations that endanger the health and safety of minors, including, but not limited to, items that may be used in the context of grooming or sexual exploitation of children, is illegal and those products must be removed from the platform immediately; whereas the recommendation or listing of such items falls within the scope of the systemic risks that very large online platforms (VLOPs) are required to assess under Article 34 of the Digital Services Act (DSA), and, should this constitute a systemic problem, the platform concerned must adopt appropriate and effective mitigating measures;

Added– having regard to the report of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (A10-0133/2025),

RemovedC. whereas the online retail platform Shein was designated by Commission Decision of 26 April 2024 as a VLOP under Article 33 DSA, thereby being subject to the strictest obligations regarding the assessment and mitigation of the aforementioned systemic risks;

AddedA. whereas since 31 October 2025 a major controversy has emerged in France, rapidly extending across Europe, concerning the sale of child-like sex dolls and other illegal products, including weapons, on the Chinese e-commerce platform SHEIN; whereas the French consumer watchdog transmitted reports of ‘the sale of sexual objects resembling children’ to the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, which consequently opened, on 3 November 2025, an investigation into SHEIN and three additional non-EU online marketplaces, namely Temu, AliExpress and Wish;

RemovedD. whereas Article 34 DSA requires providers of VLOPs and very large online search engines to identify, analyse and mitigate systemic risks, including a first category of risks associated with the dissemination of illegal content such as child sexual abuse material and with the sale or promotion of goods that negatively affect the health or safety of minors;

AddedB. whereas following initial enforcement action by the French authorities, SHEIN claimed to have withdrawn all related advertisements and visuals and to have temporarily delisted its ‘adult products’ category; whereas significant doubts persist regarding SHEIN’s capacity or willingness to take effective and decisive action against illegal content, and to guarantee that only compliant products are made available on its platform; whereas these doubts were reinforced by evidence that the contested products remained accessible in other Member States, including through VPN access, two days after the alleged suspension of their sale in France;

RemovedE. whereas Article 52 DSA requires Member States to lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this regulation by providers of intermediary services and to take all necessary measures to ensure that they are implemented, and that such penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, including fines of up to 6 % of the total worldwide annual turnover of the provider in the preceding financial year for serious infringements;

AddedC. Considering that, on 26 November 2025, the French authorities announced that they would file a complaint against AliExpress and Joom, which are also involved in the sale of child-pornography dolls, illustrating the scale and seriousness of this phenomenon;

RemovedF. whereas over 75 % of EU consumers shop online; whereas, the surge in e-commerce imports, mainly from China, along with non-compliant sellers evading regulatory costs and undermining law-abiding competitors, has intensified unfair competition; whereas tests have revealed very high non-compliance rates on these VLOPs, such that nearly 70 % of the products tested do not comply with European standards, with serious risks identified in USB chargers (overheating) and toys (choking hazards and toxic substances); whereas these platforms list dangerous or illegal products that are explicitly banned in the EU, such as child pornography, replica weapons, prohibited lasers and counterfeit goods;

AddedD. whereas in the light of these revelations the French Government publicly warned that repeated violations would lead it to request that access be disabled to the SHEIN platform on the French market; whereas in response, SHEIN appears to have removed all child-like sex dolls from its global platforms, and it has announced a worldwide ban on all sex dolls, delisted the relevant items and initiated an internal investigation into how such products were able to appear on its online marketplaces;

RemovedG. whereas Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her 2024-2029 political guidelines, referred to the need to tackle the challenges arising from online platforms to ensure that consumers and businesses alike benefit from a level playing field based on effective customs, tax and safety checks;

AddedE. whereas the significant public reaction in France is linked to earlier controversies involving SHEIN, including findings in July 2025 that the company engaged in misleading discount practices and had made unjustified environmental claims; whereas those unfair practices shed light on the business models of these online platforms and raise questions about consumption patterns;

RemovedH. whereas the DSA, the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), the Market Surveillance Regulation and the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation contribute to a safer and fairer e-commerce environment, if properly implemented and enforced; whereas, despite these laws, consumer and other organisations, as well as national authorities, have raised concerns over the large number of unsafe and non-compliant products detected in the EU that fail to comply with EU legislation on product safety; whereas enforcement of current rules and better coordination between Member States are essential in addressing these risks more effectively;

AddedF. whereas the French case has brought renewed and significant attention to the broader problem of unsafe and illegal products circulating via online marketplaces throughout the EU, and sparked a wider debate on consumption patterns, unfair competition from non-EU online platforms, the regulation of online marketplaces and consumer rights;

RemovedI. whereas consumer protection is essential to the functioning of the EU’s internal market; whereas the fairness, transparency and compliance of e-commerce platforms are crucial;

AddedIntroductory remarks

RemovedJ. whereas digital tools, such as artificial intelligence, can help track non-compliant products;

Added1. Condemns the recent events in France concerning the availability on SHEIN of child-like sexualised objects and other illicit or dangerous goods, such as weapons, which were accessible throughout the EU; stresses that these practices constitute a severe breach of EU law and a direct threat to the safety of consumers and the protection of minors;

RemovedK. whereas the Commission communication of 5 February 2025 on a comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce highlights that the volume of e-commerce goods bought by EU consumers on non-EU online platforms is expected to continue growing rapidly;

Added2. Underlines that SHEIN is not an isolated case, but reflects a systemic pattern of inadequate oversight and insufficient preventive mechanisms; highlights recent findings from consumer organisations indicating that a significant proportion of products offered by major non-EU e-commerce platforms fail to meet EU safety requirements, with a substantial share posing serious risks to consumers;

RemovedL. whereas VLOPs, through the systematic use of infinite scroll, personalised algorithmic recommendations, push notifications, gamification features (points, streaks, countdowns, flash sales) and other addictive design mechanisms, deliberately trigger and exploit repeated dopamine release in users’ brains, thereby creating behavioural loops that maximise time spent on the platform and encourage compulsive purchasing behaviour;

Added3. Notes the ongoing inquiries launched by the Commission into the practices of very large online platforms, including the recent requests for information addressed to SHEIN, yet calls on the Commission to move from dialogue to decisive enforcement;

RemovedM. whereas these ‘dopamine-driven dark patterns’ are particularly harmful to minors and adolescents, whose prefrontal cortex is still developing and who are therefore significantly more vulnerable to addictive digital environments, leading to increased risks of anxiety, sleep disturbance, body-image disorders and excessive consumption of low-quality or dangerous goods;

Added4. Stresses that most unsafe and illegal products are shipped to the EU in large volumes of individual, and often small, parcels sold to EU consumers via online platforms from non-EU countries, in particular China; warns that the exponential increase in small consignments, coupled with limited control capacity, results in the inadequate interception of dangerous goods; stresses that this situation endangers consumers and distorts competition;

RemovedN. whereas the deliberate exploitation of neurobiological reward systems for commercial gain constitutes a systemic risk within the meaning of Article 34(1)DSA in particular as regards the negative effects on mental health and the intensification of over-consumption and exposure to illegal or harmful products;

Added5. Expresses deep concern that the documented, increasing share of non-compliance by SHEIN and other non-EU online platforms is exacerbated by the business model driven by speed, profit maximisation and excessive consumption, at the expense of human rights, environmental protection, consumer safety and fundamental values; deplores the fact that behind artificially low prices lie concerning issues, including underpaid labour, unlawful imitation of designers’ work, the marketing of unsafe and non-compliant products, and the accumulation of textile waste;

RemovedO. whereas the current risk assessments and mitigation measures submitted by certain VLOPs, including ultra-fast-fashion platforms, have failed to prevent the placing on the market of clearly illegal products, thereby justifying the imposition of the highest penalties provided for in the DSA;

AddedCompliance challenges

RemovedP. whereas in May 2025, following an investigation coordinated with France’s Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF), the Commission issued a formal notice to the VLOP Shein concerning misleading practices such as false promotions, pressure to purchase, lack of clear information on the real origin of products, refunds or consumer rights, whereas, in July 2025, the DGCCRF fined this platform EUR 40 million for misleading commercial practices;

Added6. Recognises that the EU has established a robust compliance framework, including the DSA, the DMA, the MSR, the GPSR, consumer protection rules and various product and environmental laws, which also applies to products sold online; recognises, however, that greater efforts are still needed for the full and coordinated enforcement of the compliance framework;

RemovedQ. whereas sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children, including child pornography, constitute serious violations of fundamental rights, in particular of the rights of children to the protection and care necessary for their well-being, as provided for by the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; whereas products and services intended to facilitate or normalise the sexual exploitation of minors should be considered incompatible with the Charter;