Brussels, February 27, 2026. Toys continue to rank among the most notified product categories in the European Commission’s latest Safety Gate report. As in previous years, around 97% of toy notifications concern rogue traders.
This confirms a consistent trend: unsafe toys flagged in the EU are not produced by responsible companies that follow strict EU safety rules, but by operators who simply ignore the legislation.
The high number of toy alerts does not mean toys are more dangerous than other products. Toys are subject to stricter safety requirements and more frequent inspections than most other consumer products, which naturally results in more notifications.
What has not changed is the core problem: legal loopholes, lack of compliance and weak enforcement. Strict rules on toys alone will not stop unsafe toys if it is easy for dishonest traders to bypass existing legislation and face limited consequences.
As shown by TIE’s repeated mystery shopping exercises over several years, online platforms remain a significant channel through which unsafe toys reach EU consumers. In TIE’s latest exercise, 86% of toys purchased from third-country sellers via online platforms targeting EU consumers were dangerous.
As Catherine Van Reeth, Director General of Toy Industries of Europe, said: “it is alarming to see how easily sellers of non-compliant and dangerous toys can reach European consumers through online platforms without any consequences. Responsible companies that fully comply with the strict safety rules for toys rightly expect a level playing field. Ensuring effective accountability online is essential to protect both children and compliant businesses.”
TIE is calling for toys sold online to be held to the same standards as those sold in physical shops. The forthcoming EU Product Act should clearly define responsibilities for online toy sales, particularly when third-country sellers operate without an accountable economic operator in the EU. In such cases, online platforms facilitating these sales should be recognised as last-resort responsible economic operators, ensuring there is always a clearly identifiable entity within the EU and closing existing loopholes to better protect children’s safety, regardless of where the toy is purchased.
Media contact: Anna Dovha / Toy Industries of Europe / anna.dovha@toyindustries.eu
