France has formally asked the European Commission to create an EU-level delisting power for online platforms that breach EU regulations (consumer protection, commercial practices, product safety, etc.) with the goal to allow Brussels to remove/de-list online marketplaces which do not comply with EU laws from search engines and app stores.

Key points

• The Minister for Commerce and SMEs has sent a formal letter to the Commissioner for Justice McGrath seeking to adapt EU law and give the EU a common, fast delisting tool.
• The request comes amid EU investigations into Temu and AliExpress, and follows France’s early-July penalty against Shein for misleading commercial practices (€40 million).
• In the past France delisted Wish in late 2021, making it unfindable on search engines (the site remained accessible via direct URL).
• For now, the only EU measure actually adopted on low-value extra-EU parcels is the removal of the VAT exemption below €150, expected by 2028 unless applied earlier.

Additionally, we would also like to inform you that on 3rd September French authorities have fined Shein over its online cookies policy. France’s data protection authority (CNIL) fined Shein €150 million for placing cookies without user consent, in breach of GDPR, following tests on the French site in August 2023. The penalty equals about 2% of Shein’s 2023 European revenue (€7.684bn). Shein says it will appeal, calling the decision politically motivated, and claims full compliance after corrective actions.