EU imposes €550mn penalty on AliExpress under Digital Services Act

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AliExpress EU Digital Services Act penalty

Highlights

EU fines AliExpress €550mn under the Digital Services Act for failing to prevent the sale of counterfeit and unsafe goods on its platform.
AliExpress must submit an action plan by the end of October to address and mitigate risks associated with illegal product sales in the EU.
The penalty follows broader EU enforcement against Chinese ecommerce firms, including a €200mn fine for Temu in May and a new €3 per item customs duty on low-value imports.

Commission action and compliance deadline

As reported by Financial Times, citing the European Commission, AliExpress is fined €550mn for failing to do enough to limit the sale of illegal goods on its platform in the EU, marking the largest penalty so far under the Digital Services Act. Brussels says the Alibaba-owned marketplace does not sufficiently reduce the risk that counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illicit products reach consumers through its service.

EU technology commissioner Henna Virkkunen says the spread of such goods is not an unavoidable cost of online shopping but a failure to comply with DSA obligations. She says scale is not an excuse and that risks must be identified and addressed systematically so consumers can shop safely online.

AliExpress now has until the end of October to submit an action plan to the Commission detailing how it will assess and mitigate the risks of illegal products being sold on its platform. The company does not immediately respond to a request for comment, while the DSA allows the EU to impose fines of up to 6 per cent of a group's annual global revenue for non-compliance.

Broader pressure on Chinese ecommerce groups

The penalty comes amid a wider EU crackdown on Chinese online retailers, particularly over low-cost imports into the bloc. More than nine out of 10 packages imported to the EU come from China, increasing political and regulatory pressure on platforms handling high volumes of low-value parcels.

Brussels in May fines Temu €200mn for DSA breaches linked to illegal goods and is also investigating Shein over similar concerns. The Commission's AliExpress investigation covers more alleged breaches and a longer period than the Temu probe.

The EU also introduces a flat customs duty of €3 per item on ecommerce parcels as part of efforts to slow the flow of low-value imports from China. Separately, JD.com faces an in-depth EU foreign subsidies investigation over its bid for German electronics retailer Ceconomy, showing that Brussels is widening its oversight of Chinese groups across digital commerce and cross-border deals.

In our earlier article on the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict and security risks in the Strait of Hormuz, we reported that Washington continued strikes on Iranian assets linked to attacks on commercial shipping, while urging other countries to share the burden of maritime protection. We also noted that fears of disruption to a key global trade route were fueling market anxiety and pushing oil prices higher.

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