EU hits AliExpress with a record 550 million-euro fine over unsafe and
counterfeit goods
[July 21, 2026] By
MIKE CORDER
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — 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 Digital Services Act, comes just months after another
online retailer, Temu, was fined 200 million euros for similar breaches.
Last year, Brussels issued a $120 million penalty for Elon Musk’s social
media site X.
“The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics
and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of
shopping online — it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its
obligations under the Digital Services Act,” Henna Virkkunen, the
commission's executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and
democracy, said in a statement.
“Scale 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,” she
added.
In a comment emailed to The Associated Press, AliExpress said that since
the DSA came into force the company “has 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.”
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 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.”
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 “remedy the
breach of its obligations to assess and mitigate systemic risks.”
The Digital Services Act is designed to keep users safe online and
stop the spread of harmful content that’s either illegal or violates
a platform’s terms of service, such as promotion of genocide or
anorexia. It also looks to protect Europeans’ fundamental rights
like privacy and free speech.
Monday’s announcement in Brussels also comes less than three weeks
after AliExpress' operator, Chinese tech giant Alibaba, said it will
pay $600 million 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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