Picture : © CHUTTERSNAP via Unsplash
European Commissioner for Technological Sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen, did not hide her delight on Wednesday, July 22, upon the announcement of this penalty by the European Commission: “The measures taken today demonstrate the power of the Digital Services Act to create a safer online environment,” she emphasized, while praising “AliExpress’s commitments to becoming a safer platform for users.”
Brussels has just come down hard. The European Commission has imposed a record fine of 550 million euros on AliExpress, a subsidiary of Chinese giant Alibaba, for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU’s legislation on digital services. The platform is accused of allowing the sale of illegal, dangerous, or counterfeit products to European consumers without implementing the safeguards required by the regulations.
A damning finding: millions of non-compliant packages
The Commission’s decision is based on an investigation that revealed alarming findings. During hearings before the European Parliament, officials revealed that more than 90% of small packages originating from China are reportedly non-compliant. Tests conducted on more than 30,000 products shipped by Shein, AliExpress, Temu, and Amazon also revealed a high failure rate in several sensitive categories: 65% for cosmetics, 60% for personal protective equipment, and 63% for dietary supplements. In laboratory tests, 81% of the samples posed proven risks to health or safety.
These figures illustrate the scale of the challenge posed by the explosion of cross-border e-commerce. With 4.6 billion small packages entering the EU last year, authorities are struggling to monitor these massive volumes, which are often shipped below the 150-euro threshold—previously exempt from customs duties. Since July 1, 2026, a flat fee of 3 euros per package has been in place to curb these abuses, but product compliance remains a structural problem.
Alleged violations by AliExpress
The Commission believes that AliExpress has not allocated sufficient resources to its moderation system, allowing prohibited products to circulate freely. The site also failed to implement a credible sanctions policy against repeat offenders. Worse still, malicious sellers were able to circumvent checks due to understaffed monitoring teams.
The fine consists of two parts: 110 million euros for deficiencies in risk assessment (2023–2024) and 440 million for failures in implementing corrective measures. While this amount remains below the theoretical cap of 6% of global revenue, it sends a clear message.
How AliExpress can avoid further penalties
To avoid further penalties, AliExpress must submit a credible corrective action plan by October 20, 2026. Specifically, this involves:
- deploying more effective automated detection systems to identify illegal products;
- strengthening the teams responsible for moderating and monitoring sellers;
- implementing a deterrent penalty policy for non-compliant merchants;
- increased cooperation with national authorities and the Commission.
Failure to do so will expose the site to periodic financial penalties and, in extreme cases, restrictions on access to the European market.
A turning point for cross-border E-commerce
This sanction marks a major milestone in the regulation of online commerce. It places product compliance and consumer protection at the heart of platforms’ obligations. For industry players, the message is crystal clear: laxity is no longer an option.
(VS - Photo: © CHUTTERSNAP via Unsplash)