High Court hears plea to ban Shein's re-entry into India with Amazon

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jul 23, 2021

On Friday, the High Court heard a plea seeking the ban the re-entry of Chinese fast fashion brand Shein into India with Amazon. The court adjourned the matter to a hearing set for August 20. 

 
Rumours of Shein’s return to India as a seller on Amazon, set to launch at its upcoming ‘Prime Day’ sale event, caused a social media storm in India last week. With screen-shots of a later-deleted banner showing Shein products on Amazon India, jubilation from some value shoppers was met with concern from numerous traders and organisations. The businesses themselves, however, neither confirmed nor denied the rumours. 
 
Shein was banned in India, along with numerous Chinese apps, last June due to fears over data security. On Friday, petitioner Ananttika Singh’s Senior Advocate Vivek Raj Singh urged the Indian High Court to stop Shein’s return to India due to these same data security concerns, the Press Trust of India reported. Singh argued that Amazon’s privacy policy could lead to data from Indian shoppers being shared with Shein, which could compromise national security. 

The court refused to pass an order and sought a response from the central government. Amazon’s Prime Day sale is scheduled to begin on July 26, almost a month before the court will look into the matter again.