EU Fines Temu €200 Million for Unsafe Products

The European Commission fined Chinese-owned online retailer Temu €200 million ($232 million) on Thursday for failing to identify and assess risks from illegal products sold on its platform. The penalty follows an investigation that began in October 2024 and included a mystery shopping exercise by an independent testing organization.

Investigators found that a high percentage of chargers purchased through Temu failed basic electrical safety tests.

The same exercise showed that a high proportion of baby toys posed safety risks, either because they contained chemicals above legal limits or because they had small detachable parts that presented suffocation hazards. The Commission said Temu failed to diligently identify, analyze and assess the systemic risks of the products and the harm they could cause to consumers.

Temu said it disagreed with the decision and considered the fine disproportionate. The company stated that the decision relates to its 2024 evaluation and does not reflect the current state of its systems. Temu has until 28 August to submit an action plan to address the failures.

The Commission will then have two months to decide whether the company has done enough to comply. " — Temu spokesperson The fine is the second issued under the Digital Services Act. The first was a €120 million penalty against social media platform X last December.

UK consumer organization Which? praised the decision and urged the UK government to follow the EU's example by making online marketplaces legally responsible for dangerous products.