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EU hits China’s Alibaba with €550M record fine over illegal products
politico.eu • • general
Key Points:
- The European Commission fined AliExpress €550 million for failing to prevent the sale of illegal and harmful products on its platform, marking the largest penalty under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) to date.
- The fine follows findings that AliExpress allowed counterfeit goods, unsafe toys, and dangerous cosmetics to remain online and be promoted despite known safety issues, and failed to properly staff moderators or assess risks from its advertising and recommendation systems.
- This penalty is the third under the DSA, coming two months after a €200 million fine was imposed on rival marketplace Temu for similar violations.
- AliExpress has until October 20 to submit an action plan addressing the infringements or face further sanctions, while the company has called the fine "disproportionate" and stated it is reviewing the decision.
- The investigation into AliExpress began in March 2024, with some breaches partially addressed through commitments made in June 2025, but the Commission found ongoing failures in compliance and risk management.
