EU slaps AliExpress with €550m fine over illegal products
Chinese e-commerce platform AliExpress has been hit with a record €550 million (£467 million) fine by the European Union for failing to prevent the sale of illegal and unsafe products, including counterfeit clothing, hazardous toys and fake cosmetics.
The European Commission said the online marketplace did not adequately meet its legal responsibilities to identify and address risks linked to illegal, unsafe and fraudulent goods sold through its platform.
EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen criticised the company, saying the circulation of harmful and counterfeit products online was not an unavoidable part of digital shopping but a result of AliExpress failing to comply with regulations.
AliExpress, which is owned by Chinese technology giant Alibaba, rejected the decision, describing the penalty as excessive and announcing plans to appeal.
A two-year investigation by the EU found that AliExpress’s systems for detecting prohibited products were ineffective, with many harmful items remaining available on the platform even after being flagged. The Commission also found that the company failed to properly penalise traders selling illegal goods and that its product monitoring measures could easily be bypassed.
With about 193 million European users, AliExpress is one of the region’s largest Chinese online marketplaces, surpassing competitors such as Shein and Temu.
The penalty is the biggest issued under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires major online platforms to take stronger measures against illegal and harmful content. Although the law allows fines of up to 6% of a company’s global revenue, the amount imposed on AliExpress remains below that threshold.
In response, AliExpress said it disagreed with the ruling and argued that it had invested heavily in consumer protection, risk management and product safety measures.
The company has been ordered to pay the fine and submit an action plan by October 20 outlining steps it will take to address the violations.
The EU has recently increased scrutiny of major online marketplaces, with Temu receiving a €200 million fine earlier this year over similar concerns involving illegal products, while X (formerly Twitter) was fined €120 million for issues related to its verification system and user protection.
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