A Parisian court has delivered a significant ruling in the high-profile case between the French government and global fast-fashion retailer Shein, rejecting the state’s petition to temporarily shutter the company’s website. The legal action stemmed from discoveries that Shein’s platform had been offering childlike sex dolls and weapons through third-party vendors.
The judicial panel acknowledged the grave nature of these product listings but determined that a complete three-month website suspension would constitute a ‘disproportionate’ response. The court emphasized that these violations represented isolated incidents within Shein’s vast inventory of hundreds of thousands of products and noted the company’s prompt remediation efforts upon discovery.
Instead of imposing a full suspension, the court mandated stringent age verification protocols for all adult product sales on Shein’s French platform. The ruling establishes substantial financial penalties of €10,000 per violation for any breaches of these new requirements.
The court additionally rejected a secondary government request that would have forced Shein to suspend all third-party sales, which was identified as the source of the controversial items.
This legal development coincides with Shein’s ongoing physical retail expansion in France, including the recent inauguration of its flagship Paris store in early November. The store opening attracted both enthusiastic shoppers and demonstrators protesting both the controversial products and the company’s fast-fashion business model.
In an official statement, Shein reaffirmed its ‘commitment to continuously improving our control processes, in close collaboration with the French authorities, with the aim of establishing some of the most stringent standards in the industry.’ The company emphasized that ‘protecting French consumers and ensuring compliance with local laws and regulations’ remains its paramount priority.
Prior to the court ruling, Shein had proactively announced a global ban on all sex doll sales across its platforms in response to the initial controversy.