The cheap charger failed the safety test. The risk report missed it.

On 28 May 2026, the European Commission fined Temu €200 million under the Digital Services Act. It found Temu had failed to diligently identify, analyse and assess the systemic risks of illegal products on its platform and the harm to EU consumers. The Commission said consumers in the EU are very likely to encounter illegal items on Temu.

Temu’s 2024 risk assessment relied on general information about e-commerce rather than evidence about its own service, and seriously underestimated how often people meet illegal products. A mystery shopping exercise for the Commission found a very high share of the chargers tested failed basic safety tests, and a high share of baby toys posed medium to high safety risks, from chemicals above legal limits or small parts that could choke. The assessment also ignored how Temu’s recommender systems and influencer promotion programmes could spread those products.

Growth first, risk later

Very large platforms must assess the risks their own design creates and act on them. Treating that as paperwork lets a marketplace scale the selection and the recommendation engine first and find out what they sell later. “Risk assessments are not box-ticking exercises,” Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said.

Temu had until 28 August 2026 to submit an action plan. The European Board for Digital Services then has a month to give its opinion, and the Commission a further month to adopt a final decision; failure to comply can bring periodic penalty payments. The case follows the Commission’s earlier fine on AliExpress over similar marketplace risks.

What to do

Be most careful with products where failure is dangerous: chargers, power banks, anything that plugs in, and toys for young children. Buy those from sellers you can hold responsible, check the EU’s Safety Gate alerts for recalls, and report unsafe products to your national market surveillance authority or through the platform.