The fines are the third in order issued by the European Commission under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The law requires very large online platforms to counter illegal content. The Commission accused AliExpress last June of failing to meet the requirements to assess and reduce the risks of spreading illegal goods. The company has until October 20th to propose measures, and risks further penalties in December if the requirements are not met.
This is very dangerous for consumers, unfair to businesses that follow all our rules, said EU Tech Chief Henna Virkkunen.
She noted that AliExpress had 193 million users in Europe last year, compared to Shein's 156 million and Temu's 130 million.
AliExpress opposes the Commission's decision. In a statement, the company writes:
We disagree with today’s decision and the disproportionate fine, which does not adequately reflect our established framework and the significant, proactive improvements we have made. We are carefully reviewing the decision and considering all available options.
The Commission assesses that AliExpress has not evaluated whether it has sufficient staff to review risks, and that the platform has overestimated the effectiveness of its system for detecting and removing illegal goods. The authority also criticizes the company's recommendation and advertising system for facilitating the spread of these products. The deficiencies have resulted in everything from pirated copies to unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics being available on the platform for several weeks.