DIGITAL SERVICES ACT

Under Article 40(12) of EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), SHEIN is required to provide access to researchers to its publicly available data to researchers, so long as certain conditions are met.

Researchers must meet all the following eligibility criteria:

•Be independent of commercial interests

•Disclose who is funding their research

•Have strong processes to protect personal and confidential data, and explain these processes in their application

•The purpose of the research must contribute to the goals set out in the DSA.

•Only publicly accessible data that anyone can see on SHEIN’s platform’s interface (like product or seller’s information, reviews etc.)

•Real-time data, if it’s technically feasible for the platform to provide it.

SHEIN offers access to data that is already visible to the public through its online interface. This includes, but is not limited to, the following categories:

A.Product Information

•Product URLs

•Product titles and SKU numbers

•Product reviews

•Pricing, colour, and size options

•Product images and detailed descriptions

B.Seller Information

•Seller registration details (e.g., business name, address, email etc.)

•Product range

•Product price ranges and products listed

•Seller ratings and number of followers

C.Other Data

•Information published in SHEIN’s Transparency Reports (available on SHEIN’s website)

• A redacted version of the DSA Risk Assessment Report, the DSA Audit Report and the DSA Audit Implementation Report.

Note: Researchers may also request access to other types of publicly accessible data not specifically listed above.

Researchers must be doing research that helps identify or understand systemic risks of online platforms in the EU (e.g. spread of illegal content, disinformation, threats to public health, mental wellbeing, elections, etc.)

To apply for access, researchers must submit an application through "Application form for researchers’ access to publicly accessible data on SHEIN’s interface".

Note: Researchers who meet the requirements of Article 40(12) of the DSA are permitted to carry out data scraping or crawling of the site without requiring SHEIN’s consent (i.e. they do not need to submit the application form above.

SHEIN will contact the researcher back to the email address provided at the application form. SHEIN will then review the application form and may ask the researcher to provide additional evidence needed, for example, to confirm affiliation to a research institution and origins of the funding of the research.

SHEIN is open to accommodate researchers’ needs. For example, SHEIN is prepared to deploy APIs to enable real-time data access (where available), tailored to the specific data needs and technical capabilities of researchers. SHEIN can also share data via Microsoft SharePoint or email, if feasible and preferred by researchers. All of this can be the subject of open and collaborative discussion between SHEIN and the researcher.

Researchers must use the data solely for the research project described in their application. It must not be used for any commercial purposes or shared inappropriately with third parties. Researchers are also required to fully respect all applicable rules around privacy, confidentiality, and data protection.

If you do not find the information you are looking for, you may contact us directly at researchers@sheingroup.com, and we will respond to your query. Please note this mailbox is for qualified researchers only: for queries related to ‘vetted researchers’, the DSC(s) can contact us at dsa-poc@sheingroup.com.

DSC(s) can contact us via our dedicated mailbox at dsa-poc@sheingroup.com.

Vetted Researcher can access the ‘DSA Data Access Portal’ here.

SHEIN makes available to vetted researchers the following ‘DSA data catalogue’. Please note that the data catalogue is not deemed exhaustive. It may be subject to updates or further detail as SHEIN’s systems, risk-management practices, and legal obligations evolve. If vetted researchers are interested in a different set of data that does not appear in the ‘DSA data catalogue below’, DSC(s) can get in touch with us via de ‘point of contact’ email address.

Ref	Type		Data
Publicly Available Data
1	Product Information		Product URLs, product titles and SKU numbers, product reviews, pricing, colour, and size options, product images and detailed descriptions.
2	Seller Information		Seller registration details (e.g., business name, address, email etc.), product range, product price ranges and products listed, seller ratings and number of followers
Content Moderation Data
3	Statement of Reasons (SOR)		Data on moderation decisions including affected content type, restriction form, duration, territorial scope, decision grounds, notifier identity, use of detection tools or reference to the applicable grounds.
4	Transparency Reporting		Data on orders to act against illegal content and provide information, including counts, response times, and compliance rates, internal-complaint outcomes, dispute-settlement records or suspension data.
Risk Assessment and Mitigation Measures Data
5	Illegal Content	Unvetted Sellers	Data on seller business and identity information submitted for KYC verification, data on updates triggering re-verification or records of third-party KYC results.
6		Illegal Products	Data on product compliance uploads (certificates, safety docs, declarations) and system flags preventing restricted listings.
7		IP Infringement	Data on proof of IP ownership, automated IP monitoring results, flagged listings or IP database entries.
8		Unlawful Behaviour	Data on user-generated content (e.g., reviews) and automated filters blocking prohibited terms.
9	Fundamental Rights	Human Dignity	See Ref. 8 above (Unlawful Behaviour).
10		Privacy and Data Protection	Data on user’s privacy settings, data subject right’s requests & records, privacy assessment statistics.
11		Freedom of Expression & Information	See Ref. 8 above (Unlawful Behaviour).
12		Non-Discrimination	Data on multilingual T&Cs, sizing ranges, policies
13		Children’s Rights	Data on adult or sensitive content access control and restriction.
14		Consumer Protection	Data on pre-contractual information fields, cost displays, review verification or Ranking Policy.
15	Democratic Process & Societal Risk	Civic Discourse & Electoral Processes	See Ref. 8 above (Unlawful Behaviour).
16	Democratic Process & Societal Risk	Public Security	See Ref. 8 above (Unlawful Behaviour) and Ref. 6 above (Illegal Products).
17	Public Health	Gender-Based Violence	See Ref. 8 above (Unlawful Behaviour)
18		Public & Physical Health	See Ref. 8 above (Unlawful Behaviour) and Ref. 6 above (Illegal Products).
19		Mental Health	Data on approval of new features and functionalities.

SHEIN is open to accommodate to vetted researchers’ needs. For example, SHEIN is prepared to deploy APIs to enable real-time data access (where available), tailored to the specific data needs and technical capabilities of the vetted researchers and considering data sensitivity. SHEIN can also share data via Microsoft SharePoint or email or allow researchers scraping/crawling of the website, if feasible and preferred by the vetted researchers. All of this can be the subject of open and collaborative discussion between SHEIN, the DSC(s) and the vetted researcher.

If you are the DSC(s) and do not find the information you are looking for, you may contact us directly at dsa-poc@sheingroup.com, and we will respond to your query.

Data Structure	Information on data structure and metadata varies across SHEIN systems with different formats and update cycles. For this reason, it will be assessed and shared with vetted researchers on a case-by-case basis.
Metadata