The European Commission fined Chinese online marketplace AliExpress 550 million euros ($629 million) on Monday for failing to adequately block the sale of unsafe and counterfeit products on its platform. This penalty is the largest ever imposed under the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), following a 200 million euro fine against Temu earlier this year and a $120 million penalty for Elon Musk's social media site X last year, according to fortune.com.
The fine was issued after the commission found AliExpress did not sufficiently address the spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics, and other illegal products. Henna Virkkunen, the commission's executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, stated that scale is no excuse and that risks must be systematically identified and addressed to ensure consumer safety online. AliExpress responded by emphasizing its commitment to meeting DSA obligations and said it has invested significant resources in risk assessment, product safety, and consumer protection, per fortune.com.
This penalty underscores the European Union's increasing enforcement of the Digital Services Act, which aims to hold online platforms accountable for illegal and harmful content. The AliExpress fine surpasses previous major penalties under the DSA, including the 200 million euro fine for Temu and the $120 million fine for X, highlighting the EU's focus on consumer protection in e-commerce and digital services, as reported by fortune.com.
The fine against AliExpress marks the largest enforcement action under the Digital Services Act to date. The commission's decision signals heightened regulatory scrutiny of online marketplaces operating within the EU's 27-member states, with AliExpress required to take immediate action to comply with the DSA's consumer safety standards, according to fortune.com.