France has blocked sales of the Wish platform. the National Investigation Service (SNE) of the Directorate General for Competition, Consumers and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) had started an investigation in September last year relating to security of the products sold on the platform. The outcome was not positive and consequently led to the firm decision to block the site and app of the San Francisco-based company.
Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy, Finance and Rehabilitation, Alain Griset, Delegate Minister responsible for small and medium-sized enterprises, and Cédric O, Secretary of State for Digital Transition and Electronic Communications, ordered the main application stores and the search engine managers of block the Wish e-commerce site and its app . These exceptional measures are unique in Europe at the moment and have been taken with the aim of protecting consumers and putting an end to Wish's failure to comply with safety obligations relating to products. which are put up for sale. These are the words of the official statement released by the French government to announce and motivate the decision taken.
The check on Wish products took place on a sample of 140 pieces. Most of these have been imported and, after due verifications, they proved to be non-compliant with the rules , unsafe and with high levels of danger for customers. Above all, the categories of electrical appliances (with 95% non-compliant, of which 90% dangerous), toys (with 95% non-compliant, of which 45% dangerous) and of costume jewelery (with 62% dangerous). In addition to these data, it emerged that Wish did not carry out the necessary recalls and withdrawals of the products considered dangerous, as established by the regulations.
According to the competent French bodies, the e-commerce does not keep any history of the sale of non-compliant and dangerous products. Some of these are collected within 24 hours, as agreed, but often they have been repurposed on the site in a different form , sometimes even under the same seller. Wish's response was not long in coming and within a few hours it denied the allegations and with an official statement announced the appeal: “We are starting a legal action to challenge what we consider an illegal and disproportionate act. At Wish we are dedicated to providing a positive user experience and a large part of this involves making quality products available to our users. As a marketplace, we have no legal obligation to carry out checks on the 150 million products offered for sale on the platform, we invest in a wide range of programs designed to attract and reward sellers who offer quality items, and limit exposure of those offering inferior quality items “added the company.
Wish was founded in 2010 by Danny Zhang and Piotr Szulczewski . The enormous success of e-commerce is due to the fact that it allows producers (94% Chinese) to sell directly to users without going through other intermediary companies, thus significantly reducing costs . The prices of the products, in some cases, are limited only to shipping costs . This is therefore the winning formula of e-commerce, which today boasts 500 million users worldwide and which in France last year recorded sales for a total of 112 billion. of Euro.
This decision by the French authorities appears to be the first case in Europe relating to investigations on e-commerce and online sales. It could set a precedent for future investigations into malicious products available to users with just a couple of clicks. The government's decision comes following a two-month ultimatum that was given to the company in July. This penalty is also placed in a context in which the European Union is working on a reform on the directives of electronic commerce .
