French court rules against Shein suspension over sex doll sales, government to appeal

The French government said it would appeal a Paris court ruling on Friday that rejected a three-month suspension of Shein, as it attempts to crack down on the Chinese online platform after uproar over childlike sex dolls sold on its marketplace.

A Paris court ordered Shein to implement age verification measures for any adult products sold via its French website and set a 10,000 euro ($11,709) fine for any breach.

Friday's ruling comes as authorities try to force Shein to tighten oversight of products sold by third parties on its site.

However, the court rejected the government's request to suspend Shein's website as a whole for three months, saying that would be "disproportionate".

The French government said it would appeal the ruling in the coming days "at the request of the Prime Minister", adding it is convinced of the "systematic risk" linked to Shein's model.

Shein has been embroiled in a scandal since France's consumer watchdog DGCCRF found sex dolls resembling children and banned weapons for sale on its marketplace, prompting the government attempt to suspend the platform.

A spokesperson for Shein said it welcomed the ruling.

"We remain committed 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, and we have been intensifying these efforts," the spokesperson said.

"Our priority remains protecting French consumers and ensuring compliance with local laws and regulations," they added in a statement. Shein declined to comment on the government's decision to appeal.

Shein could now reinstate its marketplace in France, which it suspended last month after the DGCCRF findings. Its site selling Shein-branded clothes has been accessible throughout.

'PEDOPORNOGRAPHIC' SEX DOLLS

The Court of Paris said Shein must implement measures to verify age -- more than a simple declaration -- to prevent "sexual products that may constitute pornographic content" from being accessed by minors.

The French government began proceedings to suspend Shein on November 5, less than two hours after the opening of its first ever physical store in the BHV department store in Paris.

The court said in a statement that Shein had removed the products rapidly, and that a systematic lack of controls, oversight or regulation had not been proven.

However, Christine Cerrada, a lawyer and legal adviser for French child protection group L'Enfance au Coeur, said the French court's actions were "clearly insufficient".

"From a legal standpoint, it is well known that age‑verification measures are extremely difficult to implement," she said following the ruling.

Shein banned all sex dolls and suspended the adult products category from its marketplace globally on November 3 after the consumer watchdog's findings. It could decide to keep this in place, thus avoiding the question of age verification.

Shein, which is privately owned but aims to go public in Hong Kong after failed attempts in New York and London, had global revenues of $37 billion in 2024, the most recent filing of parent company Roadget Business Pte Ltd in Singapore shows.

FRENCH CRACKDOWN ON ONLINE PLATFORMS

France's consumer regulator also said last month it had found five other platforms - AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Joom, and Temu - sold illicit products in France. But none of those suspended their marketplaces, and the government has not targeted them to the same extent as Shein.

In a hearing earlier this month, lawyers for Shein said it is facing discriminatory treatment and there was a "crusade" against it by politicians and the media.

France has in recent weeks pushed European authorities to crack down on Shein as well, calling for a formal investigation under the EU law governing online platforms.

The European Commission requested further information from Shein on illegal products but did not open an investigation.

France's crackdown is also about competition, with retailers saying Shein's rock-bottom prices and rapid growth are enabled by a customs duty loophole.

The EU last week agreed on a 3 euro fee on low-value ecommerce parcels that were previously entering the bloc duty-free, following in the footsteps of the United States in removing the "de minimis" provision.

-Helen Reid and Hugo Lhomedet