The EU has fined AliExpress a record-breaking 102 billion yen, ruling that its measures against the distribution of illegal and dangerous goods were insufficient and violated the Digital Services Act.

On July 20, 2026, the European Commission imposed a fine of 550 million euros (approximately 102 billion yen) on AliExpress, an e-commerce platform owned by China's Alibaba, under the Digital Services Act (DSA) for failing to adequately address the risks of illegal and dangerous goods being distributed. This is the largest fine ever imposed under the DSA.

Commission fines AliExpress €550 million for breaching the Digital Services Act
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1654

AliExpress fined almost $630 million over illegal product sales | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/policy/967802/aliexpress-eu-dsa-fine-illegal-products

The DSA mandates that 'mega-sized online platforms' with more than 45 million monthly users within the EU assess the illegal content and consumer risks that may arise on their services and take appropriate mitigation measures. AliExpress was designated a mega-sized online platform in 2023, and the European Commission had been conducting a formal investigation into the company since March 2024.

As a result, in 2025, the European Commission issued a statement pointing out that 'AliExpress is in violation of its obligation to prevent the spread of illegal products.'

EU criticizes China's AliExpress for failing to address the proliferation of illegal goods on its platform - GIGAZINE

The European Commission has determined that AliExpress failed to adequately assess the risks associated with selling counterfeit branded clothing, toys that do not meet safety standards, and dangerous cosmetics, and that its measures to prevent the spread of illegal goods were insufficient. It also pointed out that AliExpress had insufficient personnel to verify products and overestimated the effectiveness of its mechanisms for detecting and removing illegal items.

According to the European Commission, there have been cases where toys and cosmetics that were found to be dangerous continued to be sold for several weeks after the discovery. Furthermore, penalties against vendors who violated the regulations were not adequately enforced, allowing problematic vendors to continue using the platform.

Henna Wilkunen, the EU's Senior Vice-President for Technology Policy, stated, 'The circulation of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, and dangerous cosmetics is not an unavoidable problem with online shopping. It is a result of AliExpress failing to fulfill its obligations under the Digital Services Act.' She further emphasized that the scale of the service cannot be used as an excuse, and that it is necessary to continuously monitor risks and take measures to ensure that consumers can shop with peace of mind.

The European Commission stated that in calculating the fine, it considered factors such as the severity and duration of the violation, as well as the fact that the DSA is a relatively new law. Nevertheless, the amount of 550 million euros far exceeds the 200 million euros (approximately 37.1 billion yen) imposed on Temu for a similar violation, making it the largest penalty ever imposed under the DSA.

AliExpress must submit a concrete action plan to the European Commission by October 20, 2026, to rectify the violations. The plan will be reviewed by the European Digital Services Conference, after which the European Commission will make a final decision, including an implementation deadline. Failure to comply with the corrective order may result in additional penalties.