AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.The Chinese e-commerce platform faces a penalty of more than $230 million for selling baby toys and other products the European Commission said could harm consumers.Listen · 4:10 min The action against Temu comes amid broader European scrutiny of Chinese companies that sell goods in the region. The European Commission is also investigating Shein and AliExpress, two of Temu’s Chinese rivals. Credit...Ksenia Kuleshova for The New York TimesMay 28, 2026Updated 9:54 a.m. ETThe low-cost Chinese e-commerce platform Temu was fined 200 million euros ($232 million) by the European Union on Thursday for failing to spot and curb the sale of illegal products.The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said Temu had violated the European Union’s Digital Services Act, the bloc’s wide-ranging law that polices online practices. Temu is required to submit a plan to address the breaches by Aug. 28. It could also appeal.The commission opened its investigation into Temu in 2024, one year after the company first expanded into Europe, amid what it called “a steady surge” in products sold online that it said were “unsafe, counterfeit or noncompliant.” The goods were potentially harmful to consumers, the environment and “fair competition,” officials said.The European Union said on Thursday that Temu had been subject to a mystery shopping exercise as part of the investigation. In that test, “a very high percentage” of chargers failed basic safety tests and many baby toys “posed safety risks.” The toys contained chemicals that were above legal limits or posed suffocation hazards, the statement noted.The fine was the second against a company for violating the Digital Services Act. The commission previously fined X the equivalent of $139 million over transparency issues under the act. Technology firms have been hit with larger fines under other E.U. rules.“We will continue to engage with regulators in good faith, while reviewing the decision carefully and considering all available options,” a Temu spokesperson said in a statement.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT