Europe fines AliExpress €550 million for illegal, unsafe, counterfeit products
The European Commission has fined the Chinese online retailer AliExpress €550 million for doing too little to combat the sale of illegal, unsafe, or counterfeit products. The platform is violating the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU executive body concluded.
“The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online - it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act,” said European Commissioner Henna Virkkunen (Technological Sovereignty)
According to Brussels, AliExpress employs insufficient staff to properly monitor what is being sold on the platform. Products that are illegal in the EU appear in advertisements on the site or are suggested as recommended products alongside other purchases. And even if detected, counterfeit products, unsafe toys, and dangerous cosmetics remained online for multiple weeks.
The platform also fails to properly track whether a removed illegal product reappears on the website after removal. Sellers of illegal products are simply able to continue offering their goods, for example, by mislabeling them, the Commission concluded.
The fact that AliExpress lists a vast amount of products for sale is “not an excuse,” Virkkunen said. “Risks must be identified and addressed systematically to ensure consumers can safely shop online. Today, we are holding AliExpress to this standard and request it to take action.”
The online retailer has until October 20 to present an action plan outlining how it will implement improvements. If this does not happen, further fines may follow for persistent violations of the DSA.
In late May, the Commission also fined online retailer Temu €200 million for similar violations. At the time, it was the highest fine imposed under the DSA. An investigation is also ongoing against Shein.
The European Commission is also targeting social media companies for violating the DSA. Last week, Brussels concluded in interim results that Meta was violating this law with Instagram and Facebook’s addictive designs. Previously, the Commission also fined X, and it is still investigating Snapchat and TikTok.
