Shein's risk assessment and user figures
Alexander Fanta made this access to documents request to Communications Networks, Content and Technology Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.
Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
- Shein's risk assessment submitted under the Digital Services Act
- Any communication with Shein regarding its user figures under the Digital Services Act since January 1, 2024
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Follow the Money
Rue Auguste Orts 2
1000 Bruxelles
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 18/09/2024 and registered on 18/09/2024 under the case number
2024/4841.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 09/10/2024. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
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1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 25/09/2024 and registered on 25/09/2024 under the case number
2024/4963.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 16/10/2024. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Directorate-General for Budget - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
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1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/4963.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
Dear Sir,
We refer to your request for access to documents, registered under the
abovementioned reference number.
Your application is currently being handled. However, we will not be in a
position to complete the handling of your application within the time
limit of 15 working days, which expires today. An extended time limit is
needed as different services need to be consulted.
Therefore, we have to extend the time limit with 15 working days in
accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding
public access to documents. The new time limit expires on 30 October 2024.
We apologise for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
DG CONNECT Access to Documents Team
Dear Sir,
We refer to your request for access to documents registered under the
abovementioned reference number.
Unfortunately, we are not able to send the reply to your application
within the given time limit, which expires today.
You will receive the reply to your application as soon as possible.
We apologize for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
DG CONNECT Access to Documents Team
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/4841.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
DG CONNECT Access to documents Team
Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'Shein's risk assessment and user figures'.
I note that the Commission has withheld access to a total of 14 documents, all of which concern Shein's compliance with the Digital Services Act. The Commission has based its refusal on Article 4(1)(b), the first indent of Article 4(2), and the third indent of Article 4(2) of Regulation 1049/2001.
However, I note that the Commission has not referred to the general presumption of non-disclosure it has discovered for other, similar documents regarding ongoing DSA investigations. I would like to ask the Commission whether this means it has dropped this general presumption?
Also, I note that its blanket refusal of my requests appears to be based on such a general presumption, but without explicitly calling it that. For one, the Commission does not seem to have developed any arguments for why any of the individual documents would cause harm in disclosure, but rather has one argument covering all documents. Also, this argument does not seem to be overtly specific, except for arguing that disclosure could harm Shein's commercial interest, and subvert the purpose of the DSA investigation.
That, in my view, runs contrary to the requirement to properly justify non-disclosure on a case-to-case basis grounded on real and non-hypothetical reasons. I therefore ask the Commission to re-consider all the documents in question individually with a view towards whether they can be disclosed.
Also, I would like to argue for an overriding public interest in disclosure. Together with my colleague Yara van Heugten at Follow the Money, we have been investigating various issues around Shein's conduct over the past few months. This includes issues covered by the DSA, such as the alleged use of deceptive design, effective risk mitigation for counterfeit products on its platform and appropriate steps against unsafe products. Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, I consider it detrimental to the public interest if Shein's disclosures on these matters as part of its risk assessment should not be seen by the public. Furthermore, e-mail exchanges among the documents in question could shine further light on Shein's conduct, therefore allowing public assessment of Shein's compliance with legal obligations under European and national law. Non-disclosure hurts the right to make informed decisions by consumers, but also could impede investigations by consumer protection advocates and national authorities in the member states. These investigations, far from being hypothetical, are indeed conducted regularly. Failure to disclose the documents would therefore be detrimental to our further journalistic investigations, and impede public understanding. In regard to these arguments, see our published stories on Shein:
https://www.ftm.eu/articles/chinese-fast...
https://www.ftm.eu/articles/shein-seduce...
Kind regards,
Alexander Fanta
Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
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Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
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aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
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Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
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References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2024/4841, sent on 18/11/2024 and registered on 18/11/2024.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 09/12/2024. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission