THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) 鈥� The European Commission on Monday fined Chinese online marketplace AliExpress 550 million euros ($629 million) for failing to adequately crack down on the sale of unsafe and counterfeit products on its site.
The fine, the biggest ever imposed for breaches of the 27-nation European Union’s comes just months after another online retailer, 200 million euros for similar breaches. Last year, Brussels issued a for Elon Musk鈥檚 social media site X.
鈥淭he spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online 鈥� it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act,鈥� Henna Virkkunen, the commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said in a statement.
鈥淪cale is not an excuse; risks must be identified and addressed systematically to ensure consumers can safely shop online. Today, we are holding AliExpress to this standard and request it to take action,鈥� she added.
In a comment emailed to The Associated Press, AliExpress said that since the DSA came into force the company 鈥渉as been, and continues to be, firmly committed to meeting our obligations and we have invested substantial resources in risk assessment and mitigation, product safety and consumer protection.鈥�
It said it disagreed with the “disproportionate fine, which does not adequately reflect our established framework and the significant, proactive enhancements we have made. We are carefully reviewing the decision and considering all available options.鈥�
The fine was for conduct by the company until at least June 2025, when the commission issued a preliminary ruling that found AliExpress was not doing enough to tackle the sale of illegal products under the DSA, and when it accepted commitments by AliExpress to improve its systems.
The commission said that AliExpress now has until Oct. 20 to submit an action plan setting out measures to 鈥渞emedy the breach of its obligations to assess and mitigate systemic risks.鈥�
The Digital Services Act is designed to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content that鈥檚 either illegal or violates a platform鈥檚 terms of service, such as promotion of genocide or anorexia. It also looks to protect Europeans鈥� fundamental rights like privacy and free speech.
Monday鈥檚 announcement in Brussels also comes less than three weeks after AliExpress’ operator, , said it will pay to resolve a dispute with the U.S. government over allegations that the Hangzhou-based firm sold and imported illegal pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, regulated chemicals and pill-making equipment into the U.S.
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