The European Union has imposed a record €550 million ($629 million) fine on e-commerce platform AliExpress for failing to prevent the sale of illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products, marking the largest penalty issued so far under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
The European Commission announced the sanction on Monday, saying AliExpress had failed to adequately assess and mitigate the risks associated with illegal products sold through its online marketplace.
The penalty is the third enforcement action under the DSA, the European Union’s landmark legislation that imposes stricter obligations on very large online platforms to detect, remove and limit the spread of illegal and harmful content.
The Commission had formally charged AliExpress in June 2025, alleging that the company breached the regulation by failing to properly evaluate and reduce the risks posed by illegal goods on its platform.
According to the regulator, AliExpress overstated the effectiveness of its systems for detecting and removing illegal products and failed to accurately assess whether it had enough staff to manage platform risks.
The Commission also criticised the platform’s recommendation and advertising algorithms, saying they contributed to the visibility of illegal products. It added that AliExpress relied too heavily on a single performance metric to evaluate the effectiveness of its content moderation systems.
As a result, counterfeit goods, unsafe toys and hazardous cosmetic products reportedly remained available on the platform for extended periods before being removed.
The regulator further said AliExpress failed to take effective action against repeat offenders, allowing merchants previously penalised for selling illegal products to continue operating.
It also faulted the company’s mandatory brand authorisation programme, which is intended to prevent counterfeit sales, describing it as understaffed, ineffective and easily circumvented by sellers of fake goods.
