The European Commission’s preliminary findings state that AliExpress breached EU platform rules regarding its handling of illegal products, though the company has made progress on other requirements under the Digital Services Act.
On Wednesday, the European Commission announced preliminary findings that AliExpress, the China-based e-commerce marketplace, has breached platform rules concerning the handling of illegal products. The findings follow an investigation launched in March 2024 and could result in fines for the company, which has faced ongoing scrutiny from EU regulators over its compliance with the bloc’s digital regulations.
Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), Very Large Online Platforms such as AliExpress are required to assess and mitigate risks related to the spread of illegal content or goods. The Commission found that AliExpress failed to properly consider these risks and identified systemic failures in its content moderation systems. Additionally, the company does not adequately enforce its policy against traders selling illegal goods.
However, the Commission acknowledged that AliExpress has taken significant steps to meet other DSA obligations. These include monitoring the potential health impacts of goods sold on the platform, improving its notification system for illegal goods, and strengthening its internal complaint handling process.
The Commission also approved changes made by AliExpress to enhance advertising transparency, recommender systems, trader traceability, and public data access for researchers. These reforms address the majority of concerns identified in the investigation.
AliExpress will now implement a new internal monitoring framework and submit regular reports to an independent Monitoring Trustee. The Commission is making the company’s commitments legally binding, meaning future breaches could result in financial penalties.
Specific commitments by AliExpress include addressing “hidden links” that disguise illegal goods, improving verification processes for influencers, and enhancing the verification of food supplements and medical products.
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