European watchdogs warn of widespread safety violations on major Chinese e-commerce platforms.
A new European investigation has found that two out of three products purchased from Temu and Shein fail to meet EU safety standards, raising fresh concerns about consumer protection in cross-border online shopping.
The study, coordinated by the Danish Consumer Council Think together with consumer organizations in Germany, France, and Belgium, tested 162 randomly selected items across three categories—baby toys, USB chargers, and jewellery. Of these, 112 products did not comply with EU regulations.
“The results are worrying and confirm what we’ve seen before,” said Stine Müller, project manager at Think. “There’s a high risk of ending up with an unsafe product when shopping on these platforms.”
Sidebar: EU Safety Test Results at a Glance
| Product Category | Platform | Products Tested | Products Failing EU Safety Rules | Key Issues Identified |
| Baby Toys | Shein | 27 | 10 (serious safety issues) | Small parts detaching, choking risks |
| Temu | 27 | 8 (serious safety issues) | Breakable components, poor labelling | |
| USB Chargers | Both | 54 | 51 | Mechanical defects, overheating, electric shock risk |
| Jewellery | Both | 54 | 43 | Excessive nickel, lead, and chemical levels |
| Total | 162 | 112 (≈69%) |
Toys and Chargers Among the Riskiest Products
Safety issues were particularly severe in children’s products. Ten of 27 toys purchased from Shein and eight from Temu were found to have serious safety defects, including detachable small parts that could pose choking hazards.
Electrical products fared no better. Among 54 USB chargers tested, 51 exhibited mechanical or electrical faults—components breaking off, inadequate insulation, and overheating risks that could lead to electric shock or fire.
Jewellery performed somewhat better, but several pieces still contained high levels of harmful substances, including nickel and lead, exceeding EU chemical limits.
Platforms Respond, but Questions Remain
Temu stated in response to the findings that it had removed the products identified in the investigation, saying, “We take product safety very seriously.”
Shein also said it had launched its own internal review, noting that two of the flagged products were already removed and that half of the tested items had passed independent verification. Both companies emphasized their commitment to compliance and cooperation with EU regulations.
However, consumer advocates argue that the problem lies deeper than isolated product failures. The platforms’ business models—offering thousands of low-cost, third-party goods shipped directly from manufacturers—make consistent enforcement nearly impossible. Many sellers are based outside the EU, meaning they fall outside the immediate reach of European product safety laws.
A Growing Policy Challenge for Europe
The findings echo a broader trend. The European Commission and several national authorities have repeatedly warned that online marketplaces such as Temu, Shein, and AliExpress represent weak points in the EU’s product safety framework. Under current rules, the platforms themselves are not always legally responsible for unsafe products sold by third-party vendors.
Brussels is attempting to close that gap. The Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force in February 2024, places new obligations on large online platforms to act against illegal and unsafe products once notified. Yet enforcement remains uneven, and consumer groups argue that proactive screening—rather than reactive takedowns—should become the norm.
On the whole, this investigation underscores how online bargain platforms can undermine decades of European consumer protection progress. While Temu and Shein have pledged to act, the scale of non-compliance points to systemic weaknesses in cross-border e-commerce oversight.
For European regulators, the message is clear: product safety rules built for traditional retail need urgent adaptation for a digital marketplace that moves faster, ships farther, and often operates beyond the EU’s direct reach.