The European Commission has imposed a 550 million euro fine on Chinese online marketplace AliExpress for violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA), Reuters reported on Monday. The penalty comes after the EU regulator concluded that the Alibaba-owned platform failed to properly address risks linked to the sale of illegal, unsafe, and counterfeit goods.
According to the Commission, AliExpress did not take sufficient action to assess and reduce the risks created by products offered through its marketplace. The regulator said the platform allowed various illegal items, including counterfeit goods, unsafe toys, and potentially dangerous cosmetics, to remain available to consumers for extended periods.
The European Commission also found shortcomings in AliExpress’s monitoring and enforcement systems. The company was accused of not employing enough content moderators, while its advertising mechanisms allegedly promoted illegal products to users. The regulator further pointed to weaknesses in the platform’s detection tools, describing its compliance procedures as systems that “could easily be circumvented.”
The Commission said AliExpress failed to effectively punish traders who violated the platform’s rules, allowing some businesses that had already faced penalties to continue selling illegal products. The regulator also criticized the company’s sanctions policy, saying it did not provide an adequate deterrent against repeated violations.
