France, Feb. 18 -- The European Commission announced on Tuesday that it had launched a formal probe into Shein, focusing on the sale of illegal goods and the platform's recommendation systems.

The investigation is the commission's first into Shein under the Digital Services Act, known as the DSA.

Regulators said they were investigating the sale of illegal products "including child sexual abuse material," as well as unsafe or non-compliant goods such as weapons, toys, clothing, cosmetics and electronics.

The commission said it would also examine what it described as a "lack of transparency" in Shein's recommender systems.

"In the EU, illegal products are banned from sale, whether in a shop or online," said Henna Virkkunen, the European...