France Investigates Online Retail Giants Following Sex Doll Incident
Online retailers featuring these four major platforms are currently facing scrutiny in France for the charge of allowing youngsters to obtain adult information on their platforms, the French judicial authorities announced on this Tuesday.
The country's regulatory body had brought to light the companies to the judicial system on this past Sunday after expressing worries about the marketing of childlike intimate products on their online marketplace in recent days.
The Paris prosecutor's office noted that the websites are being examined over graphic, explicit or “undignified” content that can be viewed by young people.
AliExpress asserted that it takes the matter with utmost gravity. These companies have also been approached for comment.
Wider Probes and Company Reactions
Two of the retailers are also facing probes over the spread of material involving minors that are of a pornographic character, the authorities mentioned.
The cases have been handed over to the French minor protection office, the investigative team explained. This office is an branch of the French police force that supervises the safeguarding of underage individuals.
AliExpress commented that the products in question contravened its policies and were removed once it became aware of them.
"Sellers found to break or seeking to evade these requirements will be penalised in compliance with our guidelines," AliExpress declared in a release.
On this Monday, the retailer announced it had prohibited the marketing of any adult toys on its website internationally. The Singapore-based company also said that it would terminate all vendor profiles involved in the prohibited distribution of the youth-resembling dolls and enforce stricter controls on its service.
Consumer Watchdog Findings and Wider Context
The regulatory authority, the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, had remarked that the products' listing details and classification left "little doubt as to the child pornography essence" of the merchandise.
The scrutiny of the retailer coincides with the firm, which was started in China, prepares for the opening on this Wednesday of its maiden fixed real-world store in France.
Activists have been observed gathered in front of the French capital department store where the company is scheduled to establish the store.
The firm plans to launch stores in additional France's shopping centers in cities like multiple French towns.
