Temu given four months to implement plan targeting illegal products

Temu's action plan on tackling sale of illegal products on its marketplace.

Online retailer Temu has been given four months to implement its action plan aimed at targeting illegal products on its platform.

In May, the online retailer was fined €200m by the European Commission over the sale of illegal products and the “resulting harm” caused across Europe.

The Chinese online marketplace has its EU headquarters in Dublin. 

It offers heavily discounted products from third-party sellers. 

In May, the European Commission said that evidence at its disposal suggested that Temu consumers in the EU “are very likely to encounter illegal items on Temu”.

The products identified include unsafe baby toys containing chemicals above legal safety limits and items posing suffocation risks. The commission said the fine reflects the “serious infringement” of EU laws.

The company was fined under the EU’s Digital Services Act, under which very large online platforms must diligently assess systemic risks linked to their services and take appropriate mitigation measures.

In a statement on Monday, the European Commission said it had accepted a plan of action from Temu, which includes analysis of "how its recommender and other algorithmic systems may influence and potentially amplify the dissemination of illegal content on its marketplace”.

The plan also includes examination of “the role of intentional manipulation of the service and the potentially rapid and wide dissemination of illegal content, including by analysing how traders and other recipients of the service may exploit Temu’s features to disseminate illegal product listings”.

The European Commission said on Monday: “Temu now has four months to implement its action plan. Temu must conduct an interim risk assessment that covers a six-month period, until 30 November 2026. 

“These measures will be subjected to an external and independent audit, which Temu has committed to perform.”