Fighting Counterfeits Online: How The EU Digital Services Act Helps

The rise of e-commerce has made it easier than ever for counterfeit goods to circulate across Europe. In response, the European Union introduced the Digital Services Act (DSA)¹ — a powerful legal framework aimed at increasing accountability for online platforms and strengthening consumer protection. Among its many objectives, the DSA plays a crucial role in combating counterfeit products sold online.

The regulation already made some progress: the EU has launched formal proceedings against the Chinese shopping website Temu amid concerns it is failing to halt the sale of illegal products online²; the European Commission designated Shein, Temu, Tik Tok as well as some other online platforms as a Very Large Online Platform under the DSA³. This classification requires companies to implement stricter measures to combat illegal and harmful content, including counterfeit goods⁴.