EU fines AliExpress record €550 million over dangerous toys and counterfeits

Record penalty under digital services law

The European Commission imposed a €550 million fine on AliExpress on Monday, the largest penalty ever under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Chinese e-commerce platform, a subsidiary of Alibaba, was found to have systematically failed to prevent the sale of illegal products to European consumers. The fine eclipses the €200 million levied against Temu in May 2026 and the €120 million sanction on X, marking an acceleration of DSA enforcement. Commission spokesperson Thomas Régnier said the amount was calibrated to the gravity, duration and nature of the infringement, not an arbitrary figure.

It is proportionate to the gravity, duration and nature of the infringement. These are serious infringements of the DSA, namely risk assessment and mitigation. The failures under Articles 34 and 35 are very serious and AliExpress must remedy them. It is not a high fine, it is an adequate fine.

The investigation, launched in March 2024, lasted more than two years and uncovered what officials described as a non-functional detection system.

What the EU investigation uncovered

Henna Virkkunen, Commission Vice-President for Digital, detailed the findings. The platform's automated screening failed to catch a large volume of prohibited goods, including counterfeit clothing, dangerous toys and unsafe cosmetics. These items often remained listed for extended periods.

We spotted a large number of counterfeits, but also dangerous toys and cosmetics, which remained on sale for a very long time.

Penalties imposed on offending sellers were ineffective: their storefronts stayed active long after violations were flagged. Virkkunen added that the compliance teams were understaffed, making it easy for bad actors to circumvent verification checks. The Commission concluded that AliExpress had not conducted diligent risk assessments nor implemented adequate mitigation measures as required under Articles 34 and 35 of the DSA.

AliExpress pushes back

AliExpress rejected the decision, calling the fine disproportionate and insisting it had taken significant proactive steps to comply with the regulation.

We disagree with today's decision and with this disproportionate fine, which reflects neither our established principles nor the significant proactive measures we have implemented.

The company did not confirm whether it would appeal. Last year, the EU had accepted a set of remedial measures proposed by AliExpress to settle other breaches uncovered during the investigation, but warned that additional sanctions could follow for the remaining issues.

Calls for immediate suspension

The fine drew mixed political reactions. French MEP Stéphanie Yon-Courtin argued that a financial penalty alone does not protect consumers in the short term and urged the Commission to immediately suspend platforms that fail to comply with EU rules. Her call echoes growing frustration among lawmakers over the slow pace of enforcement against large online marketplaces. Meanwhile, the Commission is also pursuing grievances against Google, signalling that more DSA actions are in the pipeline.

Next steps and wider enforcement

AliExpress must now submit a detailed compliance plan within three months, by 20 October 2026. Failure to do so will trigger periodic fines. Commission officials stressed that the size of a platform does not exempt it from compliance, a message aimed at all large online marketplaces. The case is part of a broader crackdown on low-cost e-commerce platforms flooding the European market with unsafe goods. The DSA, adopted in 2022, gives Brussels sweeping powers to police online content and commerce, and the fines imposed so far show a clear upward trajectory.