BRUSSELS – The European Union has fined Chinese e-commerce retailer Temu €200 million ($232 million) for failing to prevent the sale of illegal and unsafe products on its platform, marking the largest penalty yet under the bloc’s Digital Services Act.
The European Commission announced the fine on Thursday, May 28, 2026, after a nearly two-year investigation found Temu had “failed to diligently identify, analyse and assess the systemic risks of illegal products being offered on its platform and the resulting harm to consumers in the European Union”.
The case centered on a mystery shopping exercise in which investigators purchased products directly from Temu and sent them for laboratory testing. A high proportion of phone chargers failed basic electrical safety standards, while baby toys were found to present medium to high safety risks, including chemicals such as phthalates above EU legal limits and small detachable parts posing suffocation hazards. 476e
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said Temu’s 2024 risk assessment “underestimates concrete risks, lacks specificity, is not grounded in solid evidence and is not comprehensive”. The Commission also criticized the company for not properly assessing how its recommender systems and influencer-led promotions could amplify the visibility of illegal products.
Temu, a subsidiary of PDD Holdings with 130 million users in the EU, said it respects the objectives of the DSA but disagrees with the decision and considers the fine “disproportionate”. The company has until August 28, 2026 to submit an action plan outlining how it will address the violations.
The penalty is only the second imposed under the DSA after Elon Musk’s X platform received a €120 million fine in December 2025.
