Last Updated on 42 minutes ago by TodayWhy Editorial
The European Commission has fined AliExpress €550 million ($629 million) for breaking the EU’s Digital Services Act — the largest penalty handed out under that law so far. The Alibaba-owned marketplace didn’t do enough to stop illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products from spreading across its platform, regulators said, and the company now has three months to show how it plans to fix that.
Here’s what AliExpress got wrong, how the fine compares to past DSA penalties, and what happens next.
Why was AliExpress fined?
The Commission’s investigation, opened in March 2024, found that AliExpress failed at the core requirement of the DSA for very large platforms: diligently assessing and reducing the risk that illegal products spread through its service. Counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics stayed listed for weeks even after being flagged, according to the Commission’s findings.
Several specific failures stood out. AliExpress never checked whether it had enough staff to review suspect listings, and leaned on a single internal metric to judge its own moderation efforts — one that made its performance look better than the Commission’s own testing showed. Its recommender and advertising systems actively pushed illegal products to shoppers before the listings were ever taken down. And a penalty system meant to punish repeat-offending sellers went largely unenforced, letting flagged stores keep trading.
Sellers also gamed the system directly: some miscategorized products to dodge stricter checks, and AliExpress’s “brand authorisation” system, built specifically to catch counterfeits, was understaffed enough that it was easy to bypass.
How this compares to other DSA fines
AliExpress is only the third platform fined under the DSA, and by far the largest penalty so far. The Commission fined Elon Musk’s X €120 million in December, and Chinese rival Temu €200 million in May, both for similar violations. Shein remains under its own active DSA investigation.
The size gap largely tracks user numbers: AliExpress had 193 million users in Europe last year, compared with 156 million for Shein and 130 million for Temu, according to EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen. “One in five Europeans say they shop once a month from Shein, Temu and AliExpress,” she said.
Why the fine wasn’t even higher
Serious DSA violations can, in theory, cost a company up to 6% of its global annual turnover — which for a business the size of Alibaba would put the ceiling far above €550 million. The Commission said it treated the relative newness of the DSA, which only took full effect in 2024, as a mitigating factor this time.
AliExpress had also made some concessions roughly a year earlier, agreeing to tighten controls specifically on illegal and potentially dangerous goods like counterfeit medicines and supplements. The Commission accepted those commitments at the time but concluded they hadn’t resolved its broader concerns.
What Virkkunen said
The EU’s digital chief framed the fine explicitly as a consumer-protection matter rather than routine regulatory friction. “The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online,” she said. “Scale is not an excuse.” She added that platforms that don’t enforce the rules put honest, compliant competitors at an unfair disadvantage.
What happens next
AliExpress has until October 20 to submit an action plan to Brussels laying out how it will fix the violations. A panel of national digital-services regulators then has a month to weigh in, followed by another month for the Commission to issue a final decision and set a deadline for implementation. If the Commission isn’t satisfied AliExpress is complying, it can add periodic penalty payments on top of the €550 million fine already imposed.
Frequently asked questions
Why did the EU fine AliExpress €550 million?
For failing to properly assess and reduce the risk of illegal, unsafe, and counterfeit products spreading on its platform, a core obligation under the Digital Services Act.
Is this the biggest DSA fine ever issued?
Yes. It’s larger than the €120 million fine against X in December and the €200 million fine against Temu in May — both for similar violations.
Could AliExpress have been fined more?
In theory, yes — DSA violations can carry fines of up to 6% of a company’s global annual turnover. The Commission cited the law’s relative newness as a reason for a lower penalty this time.
What does AliExpress have to do now?
Submit a plan by October 20 explaining how it will fix the violations. Failure to comply adequately could trigger additional daily penalty payments.
Sources: European Commission press release, July 20, 2026; The Next Web, July 20, 2026.