BRUSSELS, May 31 (Reuters) - Temu will have to comply

with stricter EU online content rules after its user numbers

exceeded a key criterion, the European Commission said on

Friday, putting the PDD Group's fast-fashion e-commerce

retailer in a group that includes Amazon ( AMZN ), Meta

Platforms ( META ) and TikTok.

Under the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA),

companies with more than 45 million users are designated very

large online platforms (VLOPs) and are required to do more to

fight illegal and harmful content as well as counterfeit

products on their platforms.

Temu, which entered the EU market in April last year, had

about 75 million average monthly active users in the European

Union for the six months ended March 31 this year.

"Following today's designation as a VLOP, Temu will have to

comply with the most stringent rules under the DSA within four

months of its notification (that is by the end of September

2024)," the EU executive, which acts as the EU tech regulator,

said in a statement.

DSA obligations for VLOPs include assessing and mitigating

systemic risks related to their services such as the listing and

sale of counterfeit goods, unsafe or illegal products, and items

that infringe intellectual property rights.

DSA violations can cost companies up to 6% of their global

annual turnover.