this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2026
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The EU on Tuesday, February 17, opened an investigation into the online retail giant Shein over the sale of childlike sex dolls and what it called the platform's "addictive design." Shein came under greater scrutiny in November after French authorities condemned the giant for featuring sex dolls resembling children.

The probe is the European Commission's first into Shein under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU's mammoth law that aims to counter the spread of illegal content and goods online. The European Commission said it was investigating the sale of illegal products "including child sexual abuse material" and would look at the "lack of transparency" of Shein's recommender systems.

Shein, founded in China in 2012 but now based in Singapore, said it would continue to cooperate with the commission. "We share the commission's objective of ensuring a safe and trusted online environment and will continue to engage constructively on this procedure," Shein said in a statement. Following the uproar in France, Shein said it immediately removed the products and banned sex dolls from its site globally, regardless of appearance.

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[–] nullroot@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm definitely gonna be in the minority here looking at the comments, but this is rapidly approaching thought crime levels of regulation in my opinion. If they want to regulate sex dolls, show there is a correlation, prove that this is a pathway to extremism so to speak.

If this evidence already exists and I'm ignorant of it, please share, because I will happily change my stance.

Otherwise it really just feels like video games cause violence bullshit to me and reaks on senseless vilification. I'm pretty sure everyone has had thoughts that they'd never act on and repulse themselves for having, just as I'm sure many of you have watched videos or played video games depicting actions you would never participate in in reality. I really struggle to see this as problematic.

[–] original_charles@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The idea that I subscribe to is that a pedophile is more likely to commit child sexual abuse when there is some sort of normalization going on in the form of fictional depictions of csam (or in this case, dolls). A pedophile should come to the conclusion that these thoughts are wrong, and seek help in fighting urges through medication and therapy. If it is deemed okay to indulge "just a bit", it would probably make it easier to justify going over the edge because you wouldn't see it as "as wrong" if you are part of a community that is barely persecuted for it.

There will always be a lack of studies in this area though. When it comes to criminal elements, deals are cut and records aren't fully made public because so many people plead guilty to lesser charges and the full extent of their crimes aren't brought into the light.

[–] nullroot@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Well that's a slippery slope now, isn't it? No one is saying just a little bit of child abuse is okay, and my entire argument is that I don't see a correlation. Extremely distasteful? Sure, but I have no desire to censor or restrict another's actions that don't harm or affect others, which is why I say show the correlation.

Communities that are normalizing paedophilia and spreading actual csam are absolutely an issue. They need to be shut down and offenders need to be held responsible for their actions. Those are things I agree must be ardently fought against normalizing, however I reject your notion that using a sex dolls equates to just a little bit of pedophilia. I will again reiterate that I see that as the same viewpoint of playing a violent video games makes you a violent person, and we know this to be false.

Most people understand the difference between reality and fantasy and the moral implications of having a fantasy versus acting on it. A chunk of plastic does not equal a child.