EU Fines AliExpress €550 Million Over Illegal Goods

European Union regulators have hit online retail marketplace AliExpress with a €550 million ($629 million) fine after finding that the platform systematically failed to stop the sale of hazardous toys, unsafe cosmetics, and fake clothing.

The decision represents the heaviest fine handed down so far under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which is a flagship set of regulations that requires major tech companies and e-commerce platforms to actively remove harmful or illegal listings.

A two-year investigation conducted by the European Commission revealed that the Alibaba-owned shopping portal repeatedly neglected its legal duties to evaluate and reduce consumer risks. Regulators concluded that AliExpress deployed inadequate staffing to screen listings, relied on overly simplistic metrics to gauge safety, and allowed its recommendation algorithms to worsen the spread of illegal items.

Even when hazardous goods were flagged, investigators noted they frequently remained active on the site for weeks. Furthermore, rogue sellers easily bypassed the platform's brand authentication controls, while repeat offenders routinely escaped meaningful penalties.

"This is very dangerous for consumers, unfair for companies which are complying with all our rules," stated EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen. Emphasizing that modern e-commerce giants cannot hide behind their rapid growth, Virkkunen added: "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."

"Scale is not an excuse; risks must be identified and addressed systematically to ensure consumers can safely shop online."

With 193 million monthly active users across Europe, AliExpress boasts a larger regional footprint than rival Chinese-founded platforms such as Shein and Temu. EU officials highlighted that one in five European consumers shops on at least one of these three platforms every month.

AliExpress have forcefully contested the regulator's findings and argued that the fine was overly severe.

"We disagree with today's decision and the disproportionate fine, which does not adequately reflect our established framework and the significant, proactive enhancements we have made," a spokesperson for the company stated, adding: "We are carefully reviewing the decision and considering all available options."

The company now has until October 20th to present a formal action plan detailing how it will fix its moderation systems and enforce strict checks. If European officials decide in December that the proposed remedies fall short, AliExpress could face additional daily penalties.

Although the DSA empowers regulators to levy fines reaching up to 6% of a firm's global annual revenue, which would have totaled billions given Alibaba's €122 billion turnover, the Commission noted that the novelty of the law served as a mitigating factor when calculating the final amount.