European Commission, Shein to meet after French call for investigation over sex dolls, weapons

The director of the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store Karl-Stephane Cottendin cuts the ribbon at the opening Shein's first physical store in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Dimitar Dilkoff, Pool via AP)

BRUSSELS -- Representatives of the European Commission and Shein will meet on Friday, a spokesperson of the Commission said, after the French government called for an investigation into the Chinese e-commerce group due to the alleged sale of child-like sex dolls and banned weapons on its marketplace.

The Commission has powers to investigate large online platforms for breaches of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires they collect and verify information on third-party sellers and check their marketplaces for non-compliant products.

“This afternoon, our Commission’s services working on the DSA will be in touch with Shein representatives ... we will take it from there and take potential next steps under the DSA,” the spokesperson said.

Shein did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Reporting by Alessandro Parodi and Helen Reid, editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Reuters