The European Commission fined AliExpress over $625 million for failing to adequately manage illegal and counterfeit products on its e-commerce platform.

The European Commission imposed a fine exceeding $625 million on AliExpress, marking the largest penalty ever issued under the Digital Services Act. The administration announced the fine after finding that the Chinese e-commerce giant failed to diligently mitigate risks associated with illegal, unsafe, and counterfeit products. Regulators noted that AliExpress lacked sufficient staff to remove bad items, often allowing flagged products to reappear for over a month. Furthermore, the platform's recommender systems frequently promoted illegal goods rather than filtering them out. Henna Virkkunen, the EU tech chief, stated that the spread of harmful products is a failure of the company to comply with its obligations, noting that scale is not an excuse for poor policing. AliExpress expressed surprise at the "disproportionate" penalty and plans to appeal the decision. The company argued that the fine ignores its proactive risk management framework and significant investments in consumer protection. The retailer must now submit a plan by October 20 to address these breaches or face further penalties.

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