EU labels Temu as very large online platform under DSA

The online retailer will have four months to observe the new rules and regulations.

Online marketplace Temu has today (31 May) officially been declared a very large online platform, or VLOP, by the European Commission, meaning the company is now subject to the “most stringent rules” under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The Commission made the decision after declaring that Temu’s average monthly EU userbase – which consists of more than 45m users – put the company “above the threshold for designation as a VLOP”. 

Temu will be obliged to be fully compliant with a number of rules by September of this year, such as the duty to assess and mitigate systemic risks stemming from their services, including the listing and sale of counterfeit goods, unsafe or illegal products, and items that infringe intellectual property rights.

The platform will have to provide the European Commission with risk assessment reports at the end of the four-month notification period and must reinforce its internal processes, resources, testing, documentation and supervision of any of the activities linked to the detection of systemic risks.

Yearly risk assessment reports will also have to be provided, with an evaluation on any potential effects to consumer health and safety. In particular, Temu will be obligated to focus on the physical and mental wellbeing of the platform’s underage users. 

Strict measures in relation to the sale of unsafe or illegal goods must be put in place, including the incorporation of “age assurance systems to restrict the purchase of age-restricted items” by minors. 

Temu is the 24th company to face additional obligations under the DSA, joining other designated VLOPs like Zalando, Amazon and Shein. 

As Temu’s European headquarters is located in Dublin, the company will have to work with the European Commission and Irish Digital Services to ensure complete compliance with the mandates. 

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