AliExpress was fined nearly $630 million for illegal product sales

AliExpress has been fined €550 million (about $629 million) for violating the rules of the European Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to prevent the sale of illegal, unsafe or counterfeit products on the e-commerce platform. the European Commission It ruled that AliExpress did not take effective measures to curb the spread of illegal products, noting that the company “allocated insufficient staffing” to verify products, and failed to remove unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics for “several weeks” after they were discovered.

“The proliferation of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of online shopping – it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act,” EU technology chief Hina Virkkonen said in the announcement. “Volume is no excuse; risks must be systematically identified and addressed to ensure consumers are able to shop safely online.”

This is the highest penalty ever imposed under the bloc’s DSA rulebook, followed by rival Chinese retailer Temu, which was also fined more than $230 million over… Similar offenses to DSA in May. AliExpress now has until October 20, 2026 to remedy the violation, or risk facing additional periodic fines.