European Commission imposes fine of 550 million euros on AliExpress for non-compliance with the DSA
Summary
- The European Commission has imposed a fine on AliExpress.
- The platform has failed to take sufficient measures against the sale of illegal and unsafe products.
- Reports and complaints from users continue to be important.
The European Commission has imposed a fine of 550 million euros on online platform AliExpress for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). AliExpress has been imposed this fine because it has taken insufficient measures against the sale of illegal, unsafe, and counterfeit products on the platform. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) had received reports and complaints from users about this. These have been shared with the European Commission. The reports and complaints that ACM and other national regulators receive are important to the European Commission’s investigations. That is why ACM calls on users to continue reporting abuses on platforms.
At this point, different investigations into platforms that fall under the DSA are being conducted in member states and by the European Commission. This is the third fine that has been imposed by the Commission, besides those on Temu and X, on the basis of the DSA.
Last year, the European Commission already published a report with its preliminary findings regarding AliExpress. As the platform has failed to take any appropriate measures in the meantime, the Commission has now imposed a fine on AliExpress.
Next steps
AliExpress has until October 20, 2026 to draw up and submit an action plan to the Commission. The plan must make clear what measures AliExpress will take to remedy the breach of its obligations.Subsequently, it is up to the Commission to hand down its final decision. If AliExpress continues to fail to comply with the DSA, periodic penalty payments may be imposed.
ACM and the DSA
The DSA is a European law that contains obligations for providers of online services with the objective of making the internet safer and more reliable. ACM conducts oversight over providers of intermediary services that are established in the Netherlands. The largest online platforms and search engines (so-called VLOPs and VLOSEs, including AliExpress) fall under the oversight of the European Commission as well. Businesses that violate the rules set out in the DSA can be imposed fines of up to 6 percent of their global turnovers.