On February 20, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against Shein US Services, LLC, alleging false, deceptive, and misleading practices in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The complaint targets both product safety concerns and alleged misrepresentations regarding consumer data practices.
Shein, founded in China in 2008, is a global fast‑fashion retailer that launched its U.S. marketplace in 2022 and reported $32 billion in U.S. revenue in 2023. Although now headquartered in Singapore, the complaint alleges the company remains tethered to the Chinese Communist Party.
Earlier this year, Governor Greg Abbott added Shein to Texas’s Prohibited Technologies List for state employees and devices following a threat assessment by the Texas Cyber Command—an action that set the stage for the lawsuit. The complaint also highlights Shein’s history of data‑security issues, including a 2018 breach affecting more than 39 million accounts and findings that the company misrepresented the breach’s scope, resulting in a nearly $2 million fine by the New York Attorney General. It also references a €150 million fine imposed by the CNIL for cookie‑related violations.
According to the complaint, Shein’s business model presents a two‑pronged assault on Texas consumers: physical risks from allegedly toxic products and digital risks tied to consumer data privacy. The data‑privacy claims focus on Shein’s alleged failure to disclose that consumer data may be accessible to the Chinese government. The complaint points to Chinese national intelligence, cybersecurity, and data laws that can require companies to provide government access to consumer data. Despite this legal backdrop, Shein’s Privacy Policy allegedly does not disclose the possibility of such access.
Texas argues that this omission is material and deceptive, asserting that consumers would not have entered into transactions had they known their data could be accessed by the Chinese government.
The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, civil penalties, attorneys’ fees, and other monetary remedies.
Why it matters: The case underscores growing state‑level scrutiny of cross‑border data transfers and reflects the broader fragmentation of global data flows where national security and consumer protection intersect.
After publication, a SHEIN Spokesperson contacted the author and offered the following comment on the recent action by Attorney General Paxon:
“At SHEIN, we take our responsibilities to our customers seriously and we are committed to providing a safe, secure, and reliable shopping experience. We strongly disagree with the allegations in the complaint and will prove our position in court. Like Attorney General Paxton, we are dedicated to protecting the health and personal information of Texans and all of our customers, and remain focused on maintaining our high standards for product safety and data security.”