On 20 July 2026, the European Commission announced a 550 million euros fine to AliExpress for failing to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA). AliExpress, the Chinese online marketplace owned by Alibaba Group, failed to comply with the obligation to assess the risk and mitigate the sale of non-compliant, unsafe, and counterfeit products available on its platform.
This fine comes just a few weeks after another major fine for similar breaches issued to TEMU.
Failure to assess and mitigate risks led to DSA fine
According to the Commission, there are multiple shortcomings in the platform’s compliance systems, including:
- Inadequate evaluation about whether the company had sufficient staff to review potentially illegal products.
- Insufficient assessment on how its recommender and advertising systems increase the spread of illegal products.
- Lack of quantitative metrics in its assessment, leading, among others, to insufficient measures to prevent illegal listings from appearing or reappearing.
- Weak verification system designed to detect illegal sales.
- Failure to properly sanction sellers that repeatedly offer illegal goods.
- Product compliance control system easy to bypass through the misclassification of products, which leads to spread of counterfeit sales.
Similar to the TEMU fine, the high euros fine reflects the severity and prolonged nature of AliExpress’ failure to adequately assess and mitigate systemic risks, a particularly serious breach of the DSA.
The Commission has ordered AliExpress to take corrective action and submit a remediation plan by 20 October 2026. Failure to adequately address the identified shortcomings could expose the company to additional enforcement measures, including periodic penalty payments.
Compliance is essential for all products placed on the EU market
Early compliance verification can significantly reduce the risk of non-compliance findings. Depending on the legislation governing the product, manufacturers may also be required to appoint a Responsible Person or an Authorised Representative before placing the product on the EU market.
Contact us here for any questions on product compliance.
References:
European Commission (2026). Commission fines AliExpress €550 million for breaching the Digital Services Act. Retrieved on 23/07/2026.
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