AliExpress Fined Record €550 Million by EU for Illegal Products

Herz — World Desk · 20 July 2026 at 11:42 · 30s summary · 3 min read

What we know

The European Commission imposed a €550 million fine on AliExpress on July 20, 2026, according to The Guardian. It is the harshest penalty ever imposed under the DSA—EU Regulation 2022/2065 on Digital Services, adopted in October 2022 to combat the spread of illegal content online. AliExpress, an e-commerce platform owned by Chinese technology company Alibaba, is the EU's largest online marketplace with 193 million users.

The Commission found that AliExpress lacked sufficient personnel to assess the legality of products for sale. Some items were reviewed only for 'dozens of seconds.' The platform's recommendation systems also promoted illegal products, and its internal risk assessments failed.

Millions of illegal products—counterfeit goods, dangerous toys, harmful cosmetics, non-compliant clothing and kitchenware—circulated on the platform. Even after detection, these items remained online for several weeks. Products that were removed reappeared in large quantities.

The Commission's investigation lasted over two years. During this period, AliExpress had the opportunity to correct its compliance and risk assessment procedures without doing so. The platform displayed terms of use that appeared compliant while allowing sellers to easily offer non-compliant products.

The platform's size is no excuse. AliExpress has failed to meet its DSA obligations.

— Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy

AliExpress immediately rejected the sanction, calling it 'disproportionate' and stating that it does not reflect its established compliance framework or proactive improvements. The platform said it is examining all available options.

Context: other platforms already fined under the DSA

In May 2026, Temu was fined €200 million for selling illegal and dangerous products—the first major DSA fine against an online marketplace. X (formerly Twitter) was fined €120 million for a misleading verification badge and lack of advertising transparency.