EU imposes 550 million euro fine on AliExpress

Brussels – 20 July 2026: Anyone clicking on an apparent bargain on an online platform often sees only the price, photo and delivery time. The European Commission is now focusing on what may be missing behind them: effective controls. It has imposed a fine of 550 million euros on the Chinese online marketplace AliExpress. The allegation is that the company did not adequately assess and limit risks in the sale of illegal, unsafe or counterfeit goods.

The decision concerns obligations under the Digital Services Act. According to the Commission, AliExpress contained illegal listings on a large scale. These included, in particular, counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics. The authority does not accuse the platform of having manufactured every individual product itself. Rather, the focus is on the responsibility of a very large marketplace to identify risks at an early stage and reduce them effectively.

For consumers, this is more than a legal dispute in Brussels. In the case of toys, missing safety standards can mean small parts that can be swallowed, problematic materials or inadequate labelling. Counterfeits raise questions not only about trademark rights, but also about whether manufacturing, composition and safety testing can be traced. Especially in fast-paced mail-order commerce, such checks are hardly possible for buyers to carry out from the outside.

The Commission ordered AliExpress to remedy the identified infringements. The platform must submit an action plan by 20 October 2026. In it, it is to explain how it will improve its procedures for risk analysis and for curbing problematic listings. If it fails to meet the requirements of the decision, additional recurring penalty payments may follow.

The investigation has a longer history. As early as 2025, the Commission had provisionally found that customers in the European Union faced a high risk of encountering illegal products on AliExpress. AliExpress pledged improvements at the time. However, with the fine now imposed, the European Commission considers the measures taken so far insufficient.

AliExpress said after the decision that it takes its obligations under the Digital Services Act seriously and has invested significantly in risk assessment, product safety and consumer protection. At the same time, the company described the fine as disproportionate. It said it was reviewing the decision and possible further steps. No appeal or outcome of any appeal is known so far.

The case sends a signal to major digital marketplaces: low prices and a large number of external sellers do not remove the obligation to systematically combat risks to customers. For the EU, the issue is whether rules designed to protect consumers can also be enforced on platforms whose offerings change rapidly every day.