E-commerce marketplace Temu has been fined €200 million for violating the European Union Digital Services Act (DSA) over its sale of illegal products, including chargers and toys that failed safety tests.

The European Commission said in a statement on Thursday that Temu “failed to diligently identify, analyse, and assess the systemic risks of illegal products” on its platform.

“Temu’s risk assessment underestimates concrete risks, lacks specificity, is not grounded in solid evidence, and is not comprehensive,” EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen said. “It leaves regulators, users, and the public in the dark about the true scale of potential harm posed by illegal products sold on Temu.” 

Temu did not meet the DSA standards, according to the commission, which also said the company relied on general information about the e-commerce sector and failed to examine illegal products on its own platform.

The development followed an investigation the commission launched in October 2024, using customs data and market surveillance authorities. The commission adopted preliminary findings in July 2025.

The institution noted that evidence showed “a very high percentage of the selected chargers failed basic safety tests, while a high percentage of tested baby toys posed safety risks of medium to high severity, as they contain chemicals exceeding legal safety limits or pose suffocation hazards due to detachable parts.”

Temu was said to have “seriously underestimated” the harm consumers in Europe would likely face for using the products.

The commission added that the company did not “properly assess how the design of its service—including recommender systems and product promotion programmes by affiliated influencers—could amplify the dissemination risks of illegal products.”

It set an August 28 deadline for Temu to submit an action plan addressing failures in its risk assessment and proposes remedies. The European Board for Digital Services will then review the plan within one month.

In another month, the European Commission will make a final decision and implement it.

“Failure to comply with the non-compliance decision may lead to periodic penalty payments,” the European Commission warned.

It stated that its decision is based on risk assessment reports, third-party information, and a mystery shopping exercise conducted on behalf of the commission.

“We disagree with the European Commission’s decision and consider the fine to be disproportionate,” Temu said in a statement.

“We are reviewing the decision carefully and considering all available options.”