The European Commission has fined AliExpress 550 million euros for violating the Digital Services Act, the legislation that regulates the responsibilities of online platforms in the Union. This is the most severe sanction ever imposed under the regulation so far, even higher than that imposed in May on Temu, the Chinese rival fined over 230 million dollars for similar infringements.
According to Brussels, AliExpress has not taken effective measures to contain the spread of illegal products on its platform. The Commission found that the company allocated insufficient staff to check items sold by third-party traders, and that dangerous toys and health-damaging cosmetics remained on sale for weeks after they were reported.
European Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen called the situation a direct failure of DSA obligations, not an inevitable consequence of online commerce. According to Virkkunen, the size of the company is not a mitigating factor: the risks must be identified and addressed systematically, to guarantee consumers the possibility of purchasing online safely.
AliExpress now has until October 20, 2026 to correct the alleged violations. Otherwise, the platform risks additional periodic sanctions, which would be added to the fine already imposed.