EU fines AliExpress 550 million euros over illegal, counterfeit goods

The European Union has hit AliExpress, the Chinese e-commerce platform, with a large fine over the sale of illegal and counterfeit goods.

The European Commission said Monday it would impose a fine of 550 million euros ($628 million) on AliExpress, the retail arm of China's Alibaba Group.

AliExpress faces charges of violating the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission said that despite the platform's own monitoring efforts, large volumes of illegal and counterfeit goods — including fake T-shirts and shoes, unsafe children's toys and harmful cosmetics — were still circulating on the platform.

The Commission also found that AliExpress had failed to take sufficient steps to protect consumers from illegal and counterfeit products.

European Commission Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen said the spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal or harmful products "is not an unavoidable cost of online shopping, but the result of failing to meet obligations under the DSA."

The Commission also said AliExpress had not hired enough staff to screen potentially illegal products, and that those responsible for inspections were overburdened. Reviewers were spending only 10 to 20 seconds examining each product.

The Commission launched its investigation into AliExpress in March 2024 over suspected DSA violations related to advertising transparency and the operation of recommendation systems. Under the DSA, companies found in violation can be fined up to 6 percent of their annual global sales.

The Commission ordered AliExpress to take swift corrective action and called for the company to submit a remediation plan by Oct. 20. The EU will review the plan in December. If it determines the plan does not meet DSA standards, it can impose additional fines.