BRUSSELS - Alibaba's AliExpress was hit with a record €550 million (US$629 million) fine by the European Union on Monday for failing to tackle sales of illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products on its platform. The fine was the third issued by the European Commission under the EU's landmark Digital Services Act, which requires very large online platforms to do more to counter illegal and harmful content.
The Commission charged AliExpress in June last year with failing to comply with a key DSA requirement to assess and mitigate the risks of dissemination of illegal products.
It set an Oct 20 deadline for AliExpress to propose remedial measures, and the company could face further penalties if the regulator decides in December that they do not comply with the DSA.
"This is very dangerous for consumers, unfair for companies which are complying with all our rules," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters.
She pointed to AliExpress' 193 million users in Europe last year versus Shein's 156 million and Temu's 130 million. Temu has also been fined under the DSA, while Shein is facing an ongoing probe.
