Brussels imposed the largest penalty yet under the EU’s platform rulebook, saying AliExpress failed to curb unsafe and counterfeit goods and ordering an action plan by Oct. 20.
The European Commission has fined AliExpress 550 million euros, or about $629 million, for failing to adequately tackle the sale of unsafe and counterfeit products on its marketplace, marking the biggest penalty so far under the European Union’s Digital Services Act. The decision follows preliminary findings issued in June 2025 that said the Alibaba-owned platform was not doing enough to assess and mitigate systemic risks tied to illegal goods. Henna Virkkunen, the commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said the spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products reflected a failure by AliExpress to comply with its DSA obligations. She said the company must take action and that scale does not excuse weak risk controls. AliExpress said it had invested substantial resources in risk assessment, product safety and consumer protection since the DSA took effect, but called the fine disproportionate and said it was reviewing the decision and considering its options. The Commission said the penalty covered conduct up to at least June 2025, when it issued its preliminary ruling and accepted commitments from AliExpress to improve its systems. AliExpress now has until Oct. 20 to submit an action plan to remedy breaches tied to assessing and mitigating systemic risks. The case forms part of a broader EU enforcement drive against large online platforms under the DSA. The Commission said Temu was fined 200 million euros for similar breaches months earlier, while X was hit with a $120 million penalty last year.