EU Imposes Historic €550M Fine on Aliexpress for Unsafe Goods
WHO:
ABC News Business - The European Commission fined AliExpress, a subsidiary of Alibaba.
Politico.eu - Virkkunen, a senior official at the European Commission, commented on the situation.
WHAT:
Engadget - AliExpress was fined $629 million for allowing the sale of counterfeit and harmful products, which is a different amount than the previously reported €550 million fine.
Ars Technica - AliExpress expressed shock at receiving the largest DSA fine yet, amounting to $625 million, after failing to make EU-ordered fixes.
Engadget - AliExpress was fined $629 million for allowing the sale of counterfeit and harmful products, which is a different amount than the previously reported €550 million fine.
ABC News Business - The European Commission imposed a fine of 550 million euros on AliExpress for failing to curb the sale of unsafe and counterfeit products.
Politico.eu - This fine is the largest imposed under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to date.
Politico.eu - The fine is the third one imposed under the DSA, following a €200 million fine on rival marketplace Temu for similar breaches.
Politico.eu - AliExpress has until October 20 to submit an action plan to address the infringements.
WHERE:
Politico.eu - The actions pertain to the European Union's regulations and oversight of online marketplaces.
WHEN:
Politico.eu - The European Commission opened a probe into AliExpress in March 2024.
Politico.eu - The suspected breaches were settled in June 2025.
Politico.eu - The infringements lasted at least until June 2025.
Politico.eu - AliExpress must submit its action plan by October 20.
WHY:
Politico.eu - Virkkunen stated, “We were looking at the duration and the seriousness of these failures when deciding the size of the fine,” referring to the assessment of AliExpress's compliance issues.
Politico.eu - Virkkunen stated that the failures of AliExpress are "very dangerous for our consumers, but it’s also unfair for those companies that are complying with all our rules."
Politico.eu - The fine was imposed because AliExpress failed to adequately check and tackle the risks of unsafe and counterfeit products, which is deemed dangerous for consumers and unfair to compliant companies.
HOW:
Politico.eu - The EU found that AliExpress failed to assess how its recommender and advertising systems "exacerbate" the spread of illegal products.
Politico.eu - The EU found that AliExpress's moderators were "overcharged" and had "only like 10 or 20 seconds to review the illegal product," which contributed to the issues identified.
Politico.eu - The Commission found that AliExpress did not evaluate whether it had sufficient staff to review potentially illegal products, leading to moderators having only 10 to 20 seconds to review such products.
Politico.eu - AliExpress relied on compliance checks that could be easily circumvented through mis-categorization.
(UPDATED July 20, 2026 17:24 UTC)
AliExpress has been hit with a staggering fine of $629 million for allowing the sale of counterfeit and harmful products, marking the largest DSA fine to date, as the company expressed shock at the decision. The EU's assessment highlighted that AliExpress failed to address serious compliance issues, particularly regarding how its recommender and advertising systems contribute to the spread of illegal products. According to Virkkunen, the duration and seriousness of these failures were key factors in determining the size of the fine.
--
(UPDATED July 20, 2026 14:39 UTC)
AliExpress has been hit with a hefty fine of $629 million for permitting the sale of counterfeit and harmful products, a figure that differs from the previously reported €550 million. According to Virkkunen, these failures pose significant risks to consumers and create an unfair advantage for companies that adhere to regulations. The EU discovered that AliExpress's moderators were overwhelmed, having only about 10 to 20 seconds to review each illegal product, which played a role in these ongoing issues.
--
(UPDATED July 20, 2026 13:34 UTC)
The European Commission has imposed a hefty fine of 550 million euros on AliExpress, a subsidiary of Alibaba, for failing to adequately address the sale of unsafe and counterfeit products, marking the largest penalty under the Digital Services Act to date. Senior official Virkkunen noted that this fine is the third issued under the DSA, following a previous €200 million fine on rival marketplace Temu for similar violations. AliExpress has until October 20 to submit an action plan to rectify these issues, after a probe into their practices began in March 2024.