Sweden Vows Crackdown On Online Sales Of Child-Like Sex Dolls

The original story by Kirsten Grieshaber and Claudia Ciobanu for AP.

Sweden’s government says it’s had enough of child-like sex dolls being sold online — and is promising concrete action to shut the market down.

Social Services Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall said Friday that reports of e-commerce platforms offering dolls with clearly childlike features have shocked both officials and parents.

“I think I react on behalf of all parents when I say that, as a mother, your heart really breaks watching these images and pictures of these dolls,” she told The Associated Press.

The goal, she said, is simple: The government wants to “make sure these products cannot any more be sold and bought anywhere.”

The comments came after an urgent meeting called by the Swedish government “in response to several notable cases of e-commerce companies selling childlike sex dolls,” according to her ministry.

Around the table were:

• Child protection groups;
• Online marketplaces;
• Government agencies.

Waltersson Grönvall said the platforms described steps they’re now taking to block these products and stop new listings from going live.

Are those measures enough? Not necessarily.

“I have been very clear that we will follow this very closely,” she said, adding that the government “will not hesitate to take further action, which might involve further legislation if that is considered necessary.”

She also noted that Sweden is preparing a broader strategy to protect children from violence, including tighter measures against sexual and online abuse.

The controversy blew up after Swedish child protection group ChildX filed a police report earlier this month against Amazon and several other platforms over the sale of dolls with obvious childlike characteristics.

According to ChildX:

• The dolls are about one meter tall;
• Often dressed in school uniforms;
• Marketed in a heavily sexualized context.

The group points out that Swedish law bans material that portrays children in a sexualized way. That means selling or distributing lifelike child-like sex dolls could fall under criminal rules on child sexual exploitation.

ChildX Secretary General Ida Östensson said the complaint — plus public pressure — has already had an impact.

“Our police complaint against Amazon and other sites for selling child-like sex dolls, together with public advocacy, led to the removal of these listings on Amazon,” she told AP.

For her, this is about more than individual products.

“These products are designed to sexualize children,” she said. “Their open sale and marketing fuel a culture that normalizes the sexual abuse of children. This is unacceptable. Children should never be commodified for sexual purposes.”

Amazon, contacted by email, said it had nothing to add beyond earlier statements to other media, where it confirmed it:

• Attended Friday’s meeting with Swedish authorities;
• Took down the flagged listings.

“We have strict policies and guidelines in the segment of adult products and we have always strictly prohibited child pornography,” an Amazon spokesperson told French newspaper Le Monde on Nov. 12.

The issue isn’t limited to Sweden.

In November, France’s government said it was moving to suspend access to fast-fashion marketplace Shein unless it proved its content complies with French law, after authorities found illegal weapons and child-like sex dolls on the platform.

For Sweden, the message from the government and child advocates is the same: these products have no place online — or anywhere — and the state is prepared to step in if platforms don’t act fast enough on their own.