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E-commerce platforms including these four major platforms are now under investigation in France for the offence of permitting minors to view pornographic information on their platforms, the French judicial authorities announced on Tuesday.

The country's consumer protection agency had brought to light the companies to the legal authorities on this past Sunday after raising concerns about the sale of youth-resembling intimate products on their online marketplace over the weekend.

The Paris prosecutor's office explained that the online services are being investigated over violent, adult or unacceptable messages that can be accessed by minors.

AliExpress commented that it takes the issue extremely earnestly. The other retailers have also been contacted for their perspective.

Wider Probes and Platform Reactions

Shein and AliExpress are also under investigation over the spread of material concerning children that are of a pornographic character, the agency revealed.

The cases have been handed over to a specialized police unit, the prosecution service explained. This unit is an arm of the law enforcement that supervises the safeguarding of minors.

The platform stated that the products in concern contravened its rules and were taken down once it learned of them.

"Vendors discovered to break or trying to circumvent these policies will be penalised in compliance with our guidelines," AliExpress said in a release.

On this Monday, Shein announced it had prohibited the sale of any adult toys on its marketplace internationally. The Singapore-based company also said that it would ban indefinitely all merchant IDs involved in the illegal distribution of the youth-resembling products and implement stricter measures on its website.

Agency Observations and Broader Background

The French consumer watchdog, the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, had said that the sex dolls' description and grouping left "clear indication as to the exploitative essence" of the items.

The examination of the platform occurs while the firm, which was started in the People's Republic of China, prepares for the launch on this Wednesday of its inaugural permanent real-world shop in France.

Demonstrators have been spotted assembled in near the French capital shop where Shein is planned to establish the store.

The firm plans to open stores in additional France's shopping centers in cities such as these regional hubs.