The European Union has launched a formal investigation into Chinese retailer Shein for multiple suspected breaches of EU laws. The probe focuses on Shein selling illegal products, including childlike sex dolls and weapons, and also looks at the company’s store design. An EU official said the investigation covers three main concerns: the sale of illegal goods, the "addictive design" involving bonuses and rewards that may harm users’ mental health, and opaque recommender systems that push excessive product suggestions. The EU official said, "We have a suspicion that the system of Shein is not built to avoid the sale of illegal products. Illegal products? There is still a lot there so something is probably not working." This investigation follows a similar EU inquiry into Temu’s addictive platform design. The EU flagged that Shein’s recommender system did not meet the Digital Services Act’s transparency rules. The rules require Shein to offer an alternative product view not based on profiling, but Shein’s explanation was "very general," according to the EU. The probe comes months after France dropped plans to suspend Shein after illegal products were spotted on its site. The French court warned Shein to implement age-verification to block minors from viewing pornographic items. Despite these issues, Shein opened its first physical store in Paris with heavy police presence. EU officials stressed their investigation is "looking at the system at large," not only French concerns. The EU began asking Shein for compliance info in April 2024 and concluded Shein believes its service poses "low risk," while the EU sees it as "high risk" for breaching laws. Shein is cooperating, and the EU said banning its services in Europe would be a "last resort". Meanwhile, the Paris court confirmed the illegal sales had been "sporadic" and Shein had removed the products but ordered the company not to resume selling sexual items without strict age checks.