European Commission Imposes Record €550 Million Fine on AliExpress

The European Commission imposed a €550 million fine on AliExpress for failing to prevent the sale of illegal products on its platform. The penalty is the largest ever issued under the Digital Services Act and follows a two-year investigation that began in March 2024.

Investigators determined that AliExpress allowed unsafe toys, counterfeit clothes and dangerous cosmetics to remain available for weeks after detection.

Millions of such items reappeared after initial removal, and the platform's brand authorisation system proved ineffective and easily bypassed by traders. Some employees received only tens of seconds to decide whether products met EU standards, according to Engadget. The commission charged AliExpress in June 2025 with failing to assess and mitigate risks of illegal products.

It set an October 20 deadline for the company to propose remedial measures and may decide in December whether those steps comply with the law. AliExpress, which has 193 million users in Europe, stated it disagrees with the decision and considers the fine disproportionate. The platform said it is reviewing the ruling and considering all options.

Earlier this year the commission fined Temu €200 million under the same regulation in May and X €120 million in December 2025. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said the spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online but a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations.

She added that scale is not an excuse and risks must be identified and addressed systematically.