AliExpress fined half a billion dollars over counterfeits and dangerous goods

The European Commission has imposed a hefty 500 million euro fine on AliExpress, citing the e-commerce giant's failure to effectively combat the sale of counterfeit and dangerous goods on its platform. The Commission found that AliExpress improperly assessed the risks associated with prohibited items and overestimated the effectiveness of its internal moderation systems.

Regulators also highlighted that AliExpress's system for penalizing dishonest sellers was insufficient. Counterfeit products, unsafe toys, and cosmetics were found to be still available for purchase weeks after warnings were issued. The platform's recommendation algorithms were also implicated in promoting such illicit products, and sellers were found to deliberately miscategorize items to evade safety checks.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, stated, "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."

AliExpress has been given a deadline of October 20, 2026, to present a comprehensive plan to the European Commission outlining how it will rectify these violations. Failure to comply with these demands could result in additional financial penalties for the company. This action underscores the EU's commitment to ensuring consumer safety and fair competition within the online marketplace.

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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.