By
Reuters
Published
December 5, 2025
Lawyers for Chinese online platform Shein return to a Paris court on Friday for a hearing on the French government's request to suspend the company's website for three months, after child sex dolls and banned weapons were discovered on its marketplace.
Shein disabled its marketplace, where third-party sellers list their products, in France on Nov. 5 after authorities found illegal items for sale, but its main site selling Shein-branded clothing remains accessible.
The French state wants the website to be suspended for a minimum of three months in the country, which it says is necessary for Shein to prove that its content complies with the law.
It has invoked article 6.3 of France’s “digital economy” law, “which gives a judge powers to prescribe measures with the aim of preventing or stopping harm caused by online content.” France has also summoned the main Internet service providers, Bouygues Telecom, Free, Orange and SFR, to the hearing, asking them to block Shein's website. The court will have to decide whether a suspension is justified and whether it complies with European Union law.
In a statement last week, the Paris prosecutor's office said a three-month suspension could be considered “disproportionate” under the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights if Shein could prove that it has stopped all sales of illegal goods. However, the prosecutor said he “fully supports” the government's demand that Shein provide evidence of the measures taken to end those sales.
France's move comes amid broader scrutiny of Chinese giants such as Shein and Temu under the EU Digital Services Law, reflecting concerns about consumer safety, illegal product sales and unfair competition. Meanwhile, in the United States, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Monday that he is investigating Shein to determine whether the fast fashion retailer violated state law related to unethical labor practices and the sale of unsafe consumer products.
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