AliExpress has been fined €550m by the European Union for failing to prevent illegal and dangerous goods from being sold through its online marketplace.
The European Commission said the Alibaba-owned platform had breached its obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to assess and reduce the risks posed by illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products.
The penalty is the largest issued under the DSA, surpassing earlier fines of €200m for rival marketplace Temu and €120m for Elon Musk’s X.
Regulators found that AliExpress’s systems did not prevent products including counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics from reaching shoppers. Some items identified as illegal remained available for weeks.
The Commission said it had failed to carry out adequate assessments of whether products complied with EU law and had not introduced effective measures to stop problematic listings from appearing or returning to the platform.
EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen said: “Scale is not an excuse; risks must be identified and addressed systematically to ensure consumers can safely shop online.”
She added that the presence of harmful products was not an unavoidable consequence of ecommerce but the result of AliExpress failing to meet its legal obligations.
The decision follows an investigation launched in March 2024 and preliminary findings issued last year, which accused AliExpress of a “systemic failure” to control illegal goods.
AliExpress now has until 20 October to submit an action plan explaining how it will address the shortcomings identified by the Commission. Failure to comply with the ruling could result in additional periodic penalty payments.
Under the DSA, the EU can impose fines worth up to six per cent of a company’s total worldwide annual turnover.
AliExpress, which had 193 million users across the EU last year, criticised the €550m penalty as “disproportionate”.
It said the decision did not adequately recognise its existing safety framework or the improvements it had made to tackle illegal goods. It is reviewing the ruling and considering its legal options, including an appeal.
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