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AliExpress Fined €550 Million for Selling Counterfeit and Unsafe Products

🔄 Updated 9h ago — new reporting from Ars Technica

AliExpress has been fined €550 million ($629 million) by the European Commission for failing to prevent the sale of illegal and counterfeit products, marking the largest fine under the Digital Services Act. The investigation revealed shortcomings in product verification and removal processes, posing risks to consumer safety. This fine underscores the EU's commitment to stringent e-commerce regulations.

Key points

  • AliExpress fined €550 million by the EU under the DSA.
  • Fine imposed for illegal, counterfeit products on the platform.
  • Investigation found inadequate product verification by AliExpress.
  • AliExpress plans to appeal the "disproportionate" fine.
  • Largest fine under the Digital Services Act.

Record Fine Under Digital Services Act

AliExpress has been fined €550 million ($629 million) by the European Commission. The fine is the largest ever under the Digital Services Act (DSA) for failing to prevent sales of illegal and counterfeit products.

Investigation Findings

The European Commission's investigation revealed significant compliance gaps in AliExpress's monitoring systems. The platform allowed counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, and dangerous cosmetics to be sold, often failing to remove them even after being flagged.

AliExpress's detection systems and product verification processes were inadequate, with some illegal goods lingering on the site for weeks. The company did not adequately staff teams to enforce product compliance.

EU's Regulatory Stance

This fine underlines the EU's strict regulatory approach to ensuring e-commerce platforms protect consumer safety. Henna Virkkunen, EU Tech Chief, noted that risks must be systematically addressed, and scale is no excuse for compliance failures.

The Digital Services Act demands platforms like AliExpress ensure illegal and unsafe products are removed quickly and effectively. This action may influence compliance strategies of other e-commerce platforms in Europe.

AliExpress to Appeal

AliExpress, a subsidiary of Alibaba, announced plans to appeal the fine, describing it as "disproportionate." The decision points to ongoing challenges that global e-commerce companies face in aligning with EU regulations.

✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →

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How outlets covered it

AliExpress has been fined over $625 million by the European Commission for failing to address risks associated with illegal or unsafe products on its platform. The Commission found that AliExpress allowed bad actors to evade detection and inadequately assessed the spread of illegal products, which has significant implications for e-commerce regulations in the EU.

AliExpress has been fined €550m by the EU for failing to address illegal product sales, marking the largest fine under the Digital Services Act. The European Commission's investigation revealed that AliExpress's systems inadequately detected and penalized illegal goods, impacting consumer safety.

AliExpress was fined $629 million by the European Commission for selling counterfeit and unsafe products. This record fine under the Digital Services Act highlights the platform's failure to adequately monitor and control the spread of harmful items.

AliExpress has been fined €550 million (about $629 million) for not preventing illegal product sales, marking the largest fine under the EU's Digital Services Act. This penalty highlights significant compliance failures in monitoring product safety and authenticity on the platform, prompting stricter scrutiny of e-commerce operations in the EU.