The EU on Tuesday, February 17, opened an investigation into the online retail giant Shein over the sale of childlike sex dolls and what it called the platform’s “addictive design.” Shein came under greater scrutiny in November after French authorities condemned the giant for featuring sex dolls resembling children.
The probe is the European Commission’s first into Shein under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU’s mammoth law that aims to counter the spread of illegal content and goods online. The European Commission said it was investigating the sale of illegal products “including child sexual abuse material” and would look at the “lack of transparency” of Shein’s recommender systems.
Shein, founded in China in 2012 but now based in Singapore, said it would continue to cooperate with the commission. “We share the commission’s objective of ensuring a safe and trusted online environment and will continue to engage constructively on this procedure,” Shein said in a statement. Following the uproar in France, Shein said it immediately removed the products and banned sex dolls from its site globally, regardless of appearance.
Its a very fair question. I’d be interested to know if there is any evidence that the dolls prevent harm, but my instinct is to say that it probably only reinforces desire. I don’t think it’s a good thing but I’m open to being wrong
Recently, a Danish politician was caught with hundreds of CSAM files and a child-looking sex doll (that the police failed to categorize as evidence and then it mysteriously disappeared).
In that specific case, it doesn’t seem like the doll prevented the person from acquiring a large amount of real CSAM material.