Chinese fast-fashion e-commerce retailer Temu and China-founded peer Shein were ordered by EU tech regulators to provide details on how they comply with EU online content rules by July 12 following complaints by consumer bodies.

Both companies are subject to tougher requirements under the Digital Services Act such as doing more to tackle illegal and harmful content on their platforms after they were designated as Very Large Online Platforms due to their large number of users.

The European Commission said it has sent requests for information to the companies, asking how they allow users to notify them of illegal products and manage their online interfaces to prevent users from being deceived or manipulated via so called dark patterns.

It also wanted more details on how the companies protect minors, the transparency of their recommendation systems, the traceability of traders, and compliance by design.

"This enforcement action is also based on a complaint submitted to the Commission by consumer organisations. Both Temu and Shein must provide the requested information by 12 July 2024," it said in a statement.

DSA violations can result in fines of as much as 6% of a company's global turnover.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Jan Harvey)