The European Commission has fined AliExpress more than $625 million (€ equivalent), the largest penalty issued to date under the EU's Digital Services Act, after the company failed to make fixes it had been ordered to implement in June 2025. Investigators found that AliExpress had not properly assessed or mitigated the risks of illegal, unsafe or counterfeit products being sold on its platform, and that its systems even helped surface such items to shoppers, making the case significant for how the EU polices large online marketplaces.

The Commission said AliExpress lacked dedicated staff to remove dangerous or counterfeit listings, with moderators sometimes given only "tens of seconds" to review flagged products, and that millions of removed items reappeared online, in some cases for over a month. Sellers could dodge checks simply by miscategorising goods, while the platform's brand-authorisation and recommendation systems were found to be ineffective and to actively amplify illegal products, including unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics. The fine dwarfs earlier DSA penalties against X (nearly $140 million) and Temu (more than $225 million); AliExpress says it is "surprised" by the "disproportionate" decision and intends to appeal.