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Temu, the Chinese e-commerce platform owned by PDD Holdings, was fined €200 million ($232 million) on Thursday by the European Union for failing to prevent the sale of illegal products, including hazardous baby toys and unsafe electronics.
The E.U. Commission, the E.U.'s executive arm, said the penalty was issued under the Digital Services Act, a law that requires large online platforms to identify and address the risks of harmful or illegal content and goods. Companies can face fines of as much as 6% of their global annual turnover for violations.
During an undercover purchasing exercise, regulators tested goods available on the platform and discovered that baby toys frequently failed safety standards — with chemical contamination above permitted thresholds and small detachable components that children could swallow. Electronic chargers available through the platform were also found to be unsafe when put through standard testing. The commission also faulted Temu's recommendation algorithms for amplifying the spread of illegal products.
"Temu's risk assessment underestimates concrete risks, lacks specificity, is not grounded in solid evidence, and is not comprehensive," E.U. Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said in a 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."
