Company has removed product Investigation against Shein in France for child-like sex dolls

The French anti-fraud authority has launched an investigation into Shein after sex dolls with a child-like appearance were offered on the platform. The company removed the products and is now investigating internal failings.

Keystone-SDA

02.11.2025, 00:14

04.11.2025, 12:55

SDA

The French anti-fraud authority has called in the courts following the sale of child-like sex dolls on the online sales platform Shein. Sex dolls with a "childlike appearance" were offered on the platform, the authority explained on Saturday.

In addition, the dolls had been described in such a way that there was "little doubt as to their paedopornographic nature". It had reported the incident to the judiciary, the anti-fraud authority explained.

The company announced on Saturday that the dolls had been removed from the platform "immediately". It is investigating how the ads were able to reach the sales platform and bypass the company's internal controls. In addition, measures are being taken to ensure that similar products cannot be offered by other sellers.

Newspaper publishes screenshots

A screenshot published by the newspaper "Le Parisien" shows a sex doll with the physique and face of a little girl and a teddy bear in her arms, flanked by a product description with a clearly sexual undertone. It cannot be ruled out that children looking for a doll on Shein would be redirected to the sex doll offer with just a few clicks, said Alice Vilcot-Dutarte, head of the anti-fraud authorities, to the newspaper.

The French authorities had already imposed three fines totaling 191 million euros on the online platform founded in China this year - for violations of online cookie regulations, misleading advertising and undeclared microplastics in its products.

The EU is also investigating Shein for possible breaches of EU consumer protection laws and the rules for online platforms.