European Commission fines AliExpress record sum over illegal goods
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The European Commission has fined AliExpress a record €550 million ($629 million) for repeatedly allowing the sale of counterfeit and unsafe products, the largest penalty ever imposed under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). Regulators found that the Chinese, Alibaba-owned platform had failed to adequately police listings for fake clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal goods, breaching its obligations as a large online platform under the DSA. Officials said AliExpress's scale was no excuse, warning that its lax oversight endangered consumers and put compliant rivals at an unfair disadvantage. AliExpress has rejected the fine as disproportionate and said it is reviewing its options, though it has not confirmed whether it will appeal.
The Commission's investigation, opened in March 2024, examined suspected DSA breaches including AliExpress's advertising and recommendation systems, and found millions of counterfeit and unsafe items remained on sale even after being flagged. It also found the platform had insufficient staff for proper oversight, with some employees given only "tens of seconds" to assess whether products met EU standards. The case follows a €200 million ($232 million) DSA fine against Temu in May for similar failings, and comes after the EU found that up to 65% of cosmetics, 63% of food supplements and 60% of personal protective equipment sold on platforms including Shein, Temu and AliExpress were non-compliant.
- EU fines AliExpress €550m/$629m, its biggest-ever DSA penalty
- Millions of fake and unsafe products found still on sale
- AliExpress calls fine disproportionate; Temu fined similarly in May
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AliExpress is a major online marketplace, owned by the Chinese company Alibaba, where independent sellers list products for customers around the world, including millions of shoppers in the European Union. Because platforms like this connect buyers directly with often unverified third-party sellers, regulators have long worried about counterfeit goods and unsafe products slipping through, from fake branded clothing to toys or cosmetics that do not meet safety standards.
The rules at the centre of this case come from the EU's Digital Services Act, a law that sets out how large online platforms must operate within the bloc, including requirements to police illegal content and unsafe products sold through their sites. It applies to major platforms with large numbers of EU users, and gives the European Commission, the EU's executive body, the power to investigate suspected breaches and issue fines. AliExpress is one of several Chinese-owned shopping platforms, alongside others like Temu and Shein, that have expanded rapidly in Europe and drawn regulatory scrutiny over how well they check what is actually being sold on their sites.
This matters because it tests how far the EU is willing to go in enforcing its own digital rules against major foreign platforms, and could shape the environment for online shopping across the bloc. The outcome may also influence how other large platforms handle product safety and counterfeit checks in future, given the sums of money and legal precedent involved.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of the fine argue that platforms profiting from third-party sales have a duty to protect consumers, and that AliExpress's scale means lax enforcement floods the market with counterfeit goods, unsafe products and IP theft that harm shoppers, legitimate businesses and brand owners alike. They contend that only substantial penalties, calibrated to a company's global turnover, create a real incentive for platforms to invest properly in verification and takedown systems rather than treating fines as a minor cost of doing business. From this view, the ruling upholds consumer safety and fair competition rules that apply equally to all marketplaces operating in Europe.
The case against
Critics, including some within the tech and trade policy world, argue that such a large fine risks being disproportionate or selectively applied, particularly given scrutiny of how EU digital rules are enforced against fast-growing foreign platforms compared with domestic ones. They point out that policing millions of third-party listings in real time is an immense technical challenge, and that platforms already investing heavily in moderation should not be penalised as though they knowingly permitted the violations. From this perspective, there is a legitimate concern that aggressive fines could be as much about asserting regulatory leverage over international competitors as about genuinely protecting consumers.
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Originally published by Engadget as “AliExpress hit with record $629 million fine for selling counterfeit and illegal products”.