A Paris court is to hold a hearing on Wednesday over the French government’s request to suspend the main Shein website for three months over the sale of child-like sex dolls and banned weapons.
The French finance ministry said it asked the Paris court to order the suspension on Tuesday, as it pushes forward with the suspension procedure that it began earlier this month.
Shein has already suspended its third-party marketplace sales over the scandal, but the company’s platform over which it sells its own-brand products remains accessible.
Controls
The finance ministry said it is seeking to use the measure to force Shein to impose stricter controls on the products sold on the platform.
The procedure is being carried out under Article 6.3 of the country’s digital economy law, which gives judges the ability to apply measures to halt or prevent harm caused by online content.
The court, whose decision is expected sometime in the coming weeks, will have to decide whether the site’s suspension is necessary and is in line with the EU’s Digital Services Act, which obliges large platforms such as Shein to police harmful or illegal content.
The finance ministry said it has summoned internet service providers Bouygues Telecom, Free, Orange and SFR to Wednesday’s hearing and requested them to block Shein’s website.
The government began its procedure on the day Shein opened its first-ever physical shop in Paris’ BHV department store.
France’s consumer protection agency DGCCRF has been investigating AliExpress and Joom over the sale of inappropriate materials, while it accused Wish, Temu and Amazon of failing to protect under-age shoppers from adult content.
The French government has asked the European Commission to open a formal investigation into Shein over illicit products including weapons.
Retail lawsuit
Separately, a coalition of thousands of French retailers sued Shein in a class-action suit in a commercial court in southern France brought by 12 federations and 100 large French brands earlier this month.
The lawsuit accuses Shein of poaching customers over the past five years using false promotions and selling items that did not comply with French consumer and safety standards.
The companies are seeking €3 billion (£2.6bn) in damages.
Shein said in a statement that the accusation was unfounded and that it regretted that the plaintiffs were prioritising legal confrontation over constructive dialogue.
