France blocks Wish from Search Engines – Posted December 2021
'Wish flouts product safety regulations', says the French government. France has ordered search engines and app stores to ban the American e-commerce platform. The famous online marketplace platform has been subject to these exceptional sanctions.
Dangerous products
Wish will soon no longer appear in the results pages of Google or Bing, nor in the list of apps in the App Store or Play Store. Although the site can still be accessed by typing the URL directly into the browser bar, the removal from the search engines and app stores is a huge blow to the platform's online visibility.
The government decision comes after an earlier investigation by France's Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Anti-Fraud (DGCCRF), reports Euractiv. That revealed that Wish offered a large number of non-compliant and dangerous products for sale. Of the toys and electrical appliances inspected, 95% were found to be non-compliant with legal requirements. Moreover, 45% of the toys and 90% of the appliances were even deemed dangerous.
The investigation also revealed that Wish did not properly fulfill its obligations as a distributor in terms of product withdrawals and recalls. The platform did take action in most cases against products deemed to be dangerous, but often they were later offered again under a different name.
Level playing field
In July, the DGCCRF gave Wish two months to comply. That didn't happen and so the government is now having the platform removed from search engines and app stores. According to French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, the decision illustrates the government's efforts to protect consumers and effectively fight against unfair competition from players who flout product safety rules.
Moreover, on French radio station Franceinfo, Le Maire stated that this was the final warning for Wish. "Either the site complies with consumer protection rules, or we will go one step further and ban the site entirely on French territory."
France blocks Wish from Search Engines – Posted December 2021, source: Ministère de l'économie des finances et de la relance