Chinese online retailer Shein has pulled from sale childlike sex dolls after they were found on its website by the French consumer watchdog, the company said on Sunday.
France's Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) had said late on Saturday it spotted the dolls on the website along with several other pornographic items, such as adult-looking sex dolls, and had reported the matter to judicial authorities.
"Their description and categorization on the site leave little doubt as to the child pornography nature of the content," DGCCRF said in a statement.
Lack of filtering measures to limit minors' access
The agency added that no filtering measures effectively limit access to the website to this pornographic content for minors or sensitive audiences.
It added that "Shein has a zero-tolerance policy towards any content or products that violate our internal policies or applicable laws."
The Chinese fast-fashion company is set to open a physical store, its first in France, on Wednesday, at the Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville (BVH) in Paris. It has come under fire from conventional French apparel retailers, who say Shein is undermining their business model with its ultra-low prices.
Shein also plans to open five other stores within Galeries Lafayette department stores, in Angers, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, and Reims.