Legal Analysis: Shein’s €150M Data Breach and Its Lessons for Africa’s Digital Fashion Market

Introduction

In September 2025, the French data protection authority (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés, CNIL) fined Shein €150 million for unlawful use of cookies on its European website. The decision is significant because it applies the ePrivacy Directive, as transposed into French law, to one of the largest fast-fashion platforms in the world. This analysis examines the legal reasoning underpinning the sanction, highlights its implications for digital commerce in the fashion industry, and considers its relevance for Africa.

Background

Shein operates in Europe through INFINITE STYLES SERVICES CO. LIMITED, based in Ireland, and manages the site shein.com. The platform attracts over 12 million visitors per month in France alone.

In August 2023, CNIL inspected the site and found multiple infringements relating to cookies. These included:

Advertising cookies being placed automatically before users expressed consent.
Cookie banners that failed to disclose the advertising purposes of cookies.
Omission of the identities of third parties likely to place cookies.
Mechanisms that continued to install or read cookies even after users clicked “Reject all” or attempted to withdraw consent.

Despite Shein making some changes during the investigation, CNIL’s restricted committee imposed a €150 million fine, citing both the scale of processing and the company’s repeated failures to comply with obligations.

Legal Framework

Article 82, French Data Protection Act (transposing the ePrivacy Directive)
- Requires prior, informed consent before cookies or trackers are placed on user devices, except where strictly necessary for service provision.
Transparency Obligations
- Controllers must disclose purposes of data collection and identify third parties involved.
Withdrawal of Consent
- Users must be able to refuse or withdraw consent as easily as they grant it, and such refusal must be effective.
Jurisdiction
- Material jurisdiction: The case fell under the ePrivacy Directive, not GDPR’s “one-stop-shop” mechanism, meaning CNIL retained direct authority.
- Territorial jurisdiction: CNIL asserted competence because the use of cookies was linked to activities of Shein’s French establishment, INFINITE STYLES ECOMMERCE FRANCE.

Legal Analysis

The restricted committee found that Shein’s practices undermined the core principle of consent under EU data protection law. By pre-loading advertising cookies and failing to respect “Reject all” commands, Shein effectively nullified user choice. The case reinforces the position that consent must be real, informed, and enforceable—not a mere formality.

Moreover, Shein’s banners illustrate a growing problem in digital commerce: the use of dark patterns to nudge users into acceptance without full understanding. CNIL’s decision makes clear that incomplete or confusing cookie interfaces are themselves violations of the duty of transparency.

Jurisdictionally, the case is instructive. Even though Shein’s European base is in Ireland, CNIL sidestepped the GDPR’s “one-stop-shop” by relying on the ePrivacy Directive. This illustrates how different legal instruments can expand regulatory reach and prevent companies from hiding behind jurisdictional technicalities.

Implications for the Fashion Industry

Fashion is now data-driven: Online platforms do not just sell clothing; they monetise consumer data. Privacy law has therefore become a central part of fashion law.
Regulators are escalating fines: The €150 million penalty signals that fashion giants will be held accountable for systemic breaches.
Reputational risk is as serious as legal risk: In an industry where brand image is everything, breaches of trust may cause more long-term harm than fines.

Relevance for Africa

Africa’s e-commerce landscape is expanding rapidly, with fashion platforms emerging across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and beyond. The Shein case offers three key lessons:

Enforcement capacity is critical: Laws such as Nigeria’s NDPR, South Africa’s POPIA, and Kenya’s Data Protection Act are already in place, but without strong enforcement they risk becoming paper tigers. CNIL’s assertiveness provides a model for African regulators.
Cross-border compliance is unavoidable: African platforms targeting EU customers must align with GDPR and ePrivacy rules or face sanctions, regardless of where they are based.
Trust as strategy: By prioritising transparency in data handling, African platforms can build consumer confidence and distinguish themselves as ethical players in the global market.

Conclusion

The Shein case marks a decisive moment in the intersection of fashion, technology, and data protection law. It demonstrates that regulators will not tolerate tokenistic consent mechanisms or manipulative cookie practices. For Africa, the case is both a warning and an opportunity: compliance with data protection rules is not just about avoiding fines but about positioning the continent’s fashion industry for sustainable, consumer-trusted growth in the digital age.

⚖️ This analysis shows that fashion law now extends well beyond trademarks and counterfeiting—it must also grapple with consumer data, privacy, and the ethics of digital commerce.