AliExpress fined €550 million by EU in record counterfeit crackdown

The European Commission fined Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s AliExpress €550 million ($629 million) on Monday for failing to tackle sales of illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products on its platform, the largest penalty imposed under the bloc's Digital Services Act.

"The scale and persistence of non-compliance by AliExpress demanded a proportionate and deterrent response," said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission's executive vice president for competition policy, in a statement. "Platforms of all sizes must take their responsibility to protect consumers seriously."

The commission found that AliExpress failed to properly evaluate unsafe or counterfeit products sold through its marketplace and did not enforce its penalty policy against vendors that repeatedly violated platform rules. The fine represents the first major enforcement action under the DSA's enhanced liability framework, which requires large online platforms to conduct annual risk assessments and implement measures to curb the spread of illegal goods.

The DSA, which took full effect for major platforms in February 2024, imposes obligations on companies with more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU to proactively police illegal content and products. AliExpress, which serves tens of millions of European shoppers, was designated as a "very large online platform" under the rules. The previous record DSA penalty was a €410 million fine against Meta Platforms Inc. in 2025 for data privacy violations related to its advertising practices.

The fine adds to mounting regulatory pressure on Chinese e-commerce companies operating in Europe. Shein and Temu, owned by PDD Holdings Inc., have also faced scrutiny from EU regulators over product safety and consumer protection standards. The commission has signaled it will continue to prioritize enforcement against platforms that fail to meet DSA obligations, with additional investigations into other marketplaces ongoing.

For Alibaba, the penalty comes at a sensitive time as the company seeks to expand its international footprint beyond its core Chinese market. AliExpress has been a key vehicle for that expansion, competing with Amazon.com Inc. and local European players for cross-border shoppers. The company said in a statement it would review the commission's decision and consider its options, including a potential appeal to the European Court of Justice.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.