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The European Union (EU) fined online retailer AliExpress €550 million ($630 million) on Monday for permitting the sale of illegal products, including unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics.
Regulators determined that the platform failed to stop illicit goods and allowed dangerous listings to remain accessible to European shoppers for several weeks.
Following an investigation launched in March 2024, the EU concluded that many items on the site violated the bloc’s environmental and safety standards.
The EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen emphasised that platforms must systematically address consumer risks, holding AliExpress accountable to these statutory guidelines.
The penalty represents the largest fine issued to date under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
The regulatory action surpasses previous enforcement measures, including a €120 million fine imposed on X and a €200 million penalty against e-commerce competitor Temu.
AliExpress criticised the fine as “disproportionate,” claiming the decision ignores its existing risk management framework and recent platform enhancements.
The retailer confirmed that it intends to appeal the decision.
EU officials calculated the €550 million penalty based on the severity, duration, and societal impact of the violations.
AliExpress serves as the largest Chinese e-commerce platform in the European Union, maintaining a user base of roughly 193 million shoppers across the region.
Investigators found that AliExpress’s detection mechanisms failed to prevent prohibited items from reappearing or reaching users through recommendation algorithms.
The EU also reported that merchants easily bypassed the platform’s understaffed brand authorisation controls to sell counterfeit items.
The European Union set an October 20 deadline for AliExpress to settle the fine and present a detailed compliance strategy.
Failure to execute these corrective actions will trigger additional periodic financial penalties against the company.
