22/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | DEC 22, 2025

18

French court rejects suspension of Shein

Lebanon premier publishes banking law draft BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam published last week a long-awaited banking draft bill, which distributes losses from the 2019 economic crisis between banks and the state. The draft law is a key demand from the international community, which has conditioned economic aid to Lebanon on financial reforms. In a televised speech, Nawaf said “this draft law constitutes a roadmap to getting out of the crisis” that still grips Lebanon. The draft will be discussed by the Lebanese Cabinet today before being sent to parliament, where it could be blocked. The law stipulates that each of the state, the central bank, commercial banks and depositors will share the losses accrued as a result of the financial crisis. Depositors, who lost access to their funds after the crisis, will be able to retrieve their money, with a limit of US$100,000, over the course of four years. Nawaf said that 85% of depositors had less than US$100,000 in their accounts. The wealthiest depositors will see the remainder of their money compensated by asset-backed securities. “I know that many of you are listening today with hearts full of anger, anger at a state that abandoned you,” Nawaf said. “This bill may not be perfect... but it is a realistic and fair step towards restoring rights, halting the collapse.” The International Monetary Fund, which closely monitored the drafting of the bill, had previously insisted on the need to “restore the viability of the banking sector consistent with international standards” and protect small depositors. The Associations of Banks in Lebanon criticised the draft law on Monday, saying in a statement that it contains “serious shortcomings” and harms commercial banks. “Banks are angry because the law opens the door to them sharing any part of the losses,” said Sami Zougheib, researcher at The Policy Initiative, a Beirut-based think tank. He told AFP that banks would have preferred that the state bear full responsibility. The text provides for the recapitalisation of failing banks, while the government’s debt to the Central Bank will be converted into bonds. Nawaf said that the bill aims to “revive the banking sector” which had collapsed, giving free rein to a parallel economy based on cash transactions, which facilitate money laundering and illicit trade. According to government estimates, the losses resulting from the financial crisis amounted to about US$70 billion, a figure that is expected to have increased over the six years that the crisis was left unaddressed. Since assuming power, Nawaf and President Joseph Aoun have pledged to implement the necessary reforms and legislation. In April, Lebanon’s Parliament adopted a bank restructuring law, as the previous legislation was believed to have allowed a flight of capital at the outbreak of the 2019 crisis. The new bill stipulates that politically exposed persons and major shareholders who transferred significant capital outside the country from 2019 onwards – while ordinary depositors were deprived of their savings – must return them within three months or face fines. The draft law could still be blocked by parliament even if the cabinet approves it. “Many lawmakers are directly exposed as large depositors or bank shareholders, politically allied with bank owners, and unwilling to pass a law that either angers banks or angers depositors,” Sami said. Politicians and banking officials have repeatedly obstructed the reforms required by the international community for Lebanon to receive financial support. – AFP

PARIS: A French court last week rejected the state’s request to suspend Shein’s site in France as “disproportionate” after the Asian e-commerce giant removed illicit products sold on its platform. The French government said it would appeal the ruling. French authorities had requested the ultra-fast-fashion giant’s site be blocked for three months after weapons, banned medications and childlike sex dolls were found on the platform. The authorities asked that the platform only be reopened if it applied strict new measures to prevent a repeat of the offences. The Paris judicial court acknowledged a “serious harm to public order”, but found their o Ruling says state’s request ‘disproportionate’ after removal of illicit products sold on platform

In a statement to AFP, the French government said that it would appeal the court decision. “Convinced of the systemic risk of the model linked to Shein, and at the request of the prime minister, the government will appeal this decision in the coming days,” said the statement. A number of other e-commerce giants have also faced pressure on the European stage in recent months. Brussels in November requested formal information from Shein, which could lead to probes and even fines. But that does not in itself suggest the law has been broken, nor is it a move towards punishment. Earlier in December, EU finance ministers agreed to impose a €3 (RM14.27) duty on low-value imports into the bloc from July 2026 to help tackle a flood of small parcels ordered via sites such as Shein. European retailers argue they face unfair competition from overseas platforms, which they claim do not always comply with the European Union’s stringent rules on products. – AFP

sale of the items in question had been “sporadic” and noted that Shein had removed the products. The court nevertheless issued an “injunction” to Shein not to resume selling “sexual products that could constitute pornographic content, without implementing age-verification measures”. The state’s request that Shein “at a minimum” maintain the suspension of its marketplace, which hosts products sold by third-party vendors, was not granted. “Only certain products on the marketplace were identified, in these proceedings, as manifestly illegal and harmful, while the ‘fr.Shein.com’ platform offers several hundred thousand items for sale,” said the court ruling. Despite the court’s decision, Shein’s marketplace is not expected to fully reopen right away, but gradually, its lawyers said. The company has acknowledged difficulties in implementing an effective age filter for pornographic products. As a result, the adults-only sexual category would remain closed for the time being, as is the case worldwide since the uproar over the sale of childlike sex dolls on the platform broke out in France in November.

French police secure the area as people queue to enter the Bazar de l’Hotel de Ville on the day of the opening of the first physical space for Shein within the department store in Paris. – REUTERSPIC

Spanish consumer group seeks to sue Google in data row MADRID: A Spanish consumer rights association said last week it had launched preliminary legal action against Google for allegedly collecting sensitive personal data and violating their right to privacy. “The issue of privacy is extremely scandalous because not even the bare minimum is protected,” he added. Hernandez told AFP Google could have

A Google spokesperson said allegations that Android was a mass surveillance tool were “wrong” and that the courts should dismiss the AUC’s request for “massive intrusion”. “This lawsuit is wrongly trying to protect user privacy while demanding the personal data of millions of people without their consent to prepare speculative class actions,” the spokesperson said. Last month, a Spanish court ordered fellow US tech giant Meta Platforms to pay local media outlets €479 million (RM2.3 billion) in compensation for breaching EU data protection rules and engaging in unfair competition. – AFP

provided the same services without unnecessarily collecting “an excessive amount of data”. The AUC said it had asked Madrid courts to collect the names of Google and Android product users, estimating that up to 37 million people in Spain could be affected. It is a prior step to presenting a collective lawsuit against Google Spain and Google Ireland as well as calculating how much compensation to demand, for which an expert report is being prepared.

The Association of Communication Users (AUC) says the US tech giant collected data about users’ personal opinions, religion, sexuality and health through applications and the Android operating system, supporting their claim with a study by a Dublin-based university professor. “Technology and the desire to provide a service have taken precedence over putting in place safeguards to protect people’s privacy,” AUC secretary general Bernardo Hernandez said.