France Pushes EU to Probe Shein, Google Deal Clears DOJ, Snap Soars, and Trump’s Tariffs Under Fire

6th November 2025

France is urging the EU to launch a formal probe into Shein after finding child-like sex dolls and banned weapons on its platform. The move ramps up pressure under the Digital Services Act, which could see the fast-fashion giant face heavy fines. The US DOJ has closed its antitrust review of Google’s $32B Wiz acquisition, clearing a major hurdle for the tech giant’s push into cloud security, though global regulators are still reviewing the deal. Snap shares jumped 14% after announcing a $400M partnership with AI startup Perplexity, which will integrate its conversational search tech into Snapchat’s chat interface starting in 2026. At the US Supreme Court, justices appeared skeptical of Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff powers, questioning whether his use of emergency authority to impose broad import duties oversteps Congress’s role.

Major News 

• France Pushes EU to Probe Shein Over Sale of Banned Items

France is turning up the heat on the European Union to launch a formal investigation into Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein, following reports that the company’s marketplace hosted child-like sex dolls and prohibited weapons. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the retailer was “clearly” violating European regulations and urged the EU to act swiftly. “The European Commission must take action it cannot wait any longer,” Barrot said in an interview with Franceinfo radio.

In response, France has already moved to suspend Shein’s operations in the country, prompting the company to temporarily shut down its marketplace while it reviews and tightens its third-party seller controls. Shein has also halted the sale of all sex dolls worldwide. French Finance Minister Roland Lescure and Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff sent a letter to EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen, warning that the platform’s violations in France could reflect wider risks across the European Union. They called on Brussels to open a formal probe “without delay” to determine how such illegal products made it onto the site.

A European Commission spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter and said officials are assessing possible next steps. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), Shein is designated as a Very Large Online Platform, meaning it faces stricter oversight and could be fined up to 6% of its global annual revenue for confirmed breaches. Earlier this year, the Commission had already asked Shein to provide detailed internal records about how it manages risks related to illegal content and goods.

This latest controversy adds to growing scrutiny of major e-commerce players. French authorities are also investigating Temu, AliExpress, and Wish over alleged violations, including allowing minors to access pornographic materials through their platforms. As pressure mounts, European regulators are facing renewed calls to tighten enforcement of the DSA, a move that could reshape how large online retailers operate across the continent. Reuters 

• US DOJ Wraps Up Antitrust Review of Google’s $32 Billion Wiz Deal

Google just cleared a major regulatory hurdle in its push deeper into cloud security. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially closed its antitrust review of the tech giant’s planned $32 billion acquisition of Wiz, paving the way for the deal to move forward. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), early termination of the DOJ’s review was granted on October 24, signaling no immediate antitrust objections from US regulators.

The acquisition, first announced in March 2025, marks one of Google’s largest-ever purchases. Wiz, a fast-growing cloud security company based in the US, provides software that helps businesses monitor and protect their cloud environments across multiple service providers. The platform is popular among startups, large enterprises, and government clients alike. Google plans to integrate Wiz into its Google Cloud unit, aiming to build a more unified and automated approach to cybersecurity one designed to cut costs, strengthen threat prevention, and streamline compliance for customers operating in an increasingly AI-driven landscape.

While the DOJ’s green light removes a key obstacle, Google isn’t entirely in the clear yet. The proposed deal still faces scrutiny from other global competition authorities, part of the wider regulatory attention Alphabet continues to face around the world. Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport confirmed at a recent Wall Street Journal event that the acquisition remains under review in several jurisdictions.

The DOJ’s decision comes amid a broader wave of antitrust challenges for Google, including ongoing court cases over its dominance in search and digital advertising. A federal judge is expected to rule soon on whether the company must divest parts of its ad tech business. For now, though, the end of this particular probe gives Google a smoother path toward completing one of its most ambitious plays in cloud security to date. Finance.Yahoo

• Snap shares soar after $400m AI deal with Perplexity

Snap is giving its chat experience a major AI upgrade and investors are on board. The company’s stock jumped more than 14% on Tuesday (5 November) after announcing a $400 million partnership with Perplexity, the fast-growing AI startup known for its conversational search technology.

Under the agreement, Perplexity will integrate its search engine directly into Snapchat’s chat interface starting in early 2026. The startup will pay Snap $400 million in cash and equity over the next year for the integration, which will let users ask questions and get conversational answers right inside the app. Snap described the move as a step toward making Snapchat the go-to platform where AI companies can engage with its massive global audience.

The deal comes on the heels of a strong quarter for Snap. The company reported $1.5 billion in revenue, up 10% year over year, with advertising contributing $1.32 billion of that total. Its user base also grew, reaching 943 million monthly active users a 7% increase from last year. More than 75% of 13- to 34-year-olds across over two dozen countries now use Snapchat, though its audience still trails Instagram’s 3 billion MAUs.

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said the partnership aligns with his company’s mission to “support the world’s curiosity,” while Snap CEO Evan Spiegel called it a reflection of their “shared vision for the power of AI to enhance discovery and connection.” The deal follows Perplexity’s recent multi-year partnership with Getty Images and comes amid ongoing legal challenges, including a new lawsuit from Amazon accusing the startup of “computer fraud.” Bloomberg

• Conservative Supreme Court Justices Question Scope of Trump’s Tariff Powers

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided on Wednesday over whether President Donald Trump can unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs under emergency powers, a key test of executive authority that could reshape his economic agenda. Several conservative justices, including Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, joined their liberal counterparts in questioning whether the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) gives Trump near-limitless authority to levy duties on imports. Their skepticism suggests the court’s conservative majority could place new limits on the president’s trade powers, even if it doesn’t strike them down entirely.

The case marks one of the first major challenges to reach the high court from Trump’s second term, and the stakes are enormous. The Constitution assigns tariff-setting powers to Congress, but the Trump administration argues that emergency powers allow the president to regulate trade including through tariffs when national security or economic stability is at risk. Justice Gorsuch pushed back, warning that such an interpretation would shift “the power to reach into the pockets of the American people” away from Congress and into the executive branch. Chief Justice John Roberts also pressed government lawyers on whether the emergency law could really permit tariffs “on any product, from any country, in any amount, for any length of time.”

Government lawyers defended the tariffs as a way to rebalance unfair trade practices, not a tax grab. Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court that Trump’s actions were aimed at “regulating foreign commerce,” not raising revenue though Trump himself seemed to contradict that argument hours later, boasting in a Miami speech that his tariffs were “bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars.” The tariffs under review include those imposed on imports from Canada, China, and Mexico earlier this year, as well as broader “reciprocal” tariffs announced in April, which together could raise an estimated $3 trillion over the next decade.

Much of the hearing centered on the “major questions doctrine,” a legal principle that limits executive actions with vast economic consequences unless explicitly authorized by Congress, a test that has derailed other presidents’ signature policies. Small businesses and several states challenging the tariffs say Trump’s use of IEEPA goes far beyond its intent, effectively turning a national security tool into a tax policy. If the justices agree, the administration could be forced to refund billions in tariff revenue, though Trump would still retain some tariff authority under other trade laws. As Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted, the decision may ultimately hinge on how much flexibility the court believes a president should have when “responding to an emergency” on the global stage. Yahoo News 

Minor News 

• Amazon Services Back Online as Outage Reports Drop Dramatically. Reuters 

  
  

• Starbucks Union Employees Vote to Authorize Strike Amid Stalled Contract Talks. Reuters 

  
  

• Apple Close to $1B Annual Deal With Google to Power Siri’s AI Model. TechCrunch 

  
  

• Fed’s Stephen Miran Pushes for More Rate Cuts Through 2025. Finance.Yahoo

  
  

• Google Reportedly in Early Talks to Increase Its Investment in AI Startup Anthropic. Finance.Yahoo

  
  

• Qatar Airways to Offload Its $896 Million Stake in Cathay Pacific. Finance.Yahoo

  
  

• Robinhood’s Revenue Doubles in Latest Quarter. CNBC

  
  

• Google Eyes Remote Christmas Island for New AI Data Centre. Reuters