The European Union dealt an unprecedented financial blow to the Ali Express platform, after imposing a fine on it worth 550 million euros, or about 630 million dollars, on the grounds that it allowed the sale of products that violate the law, including unsafe toys and cosmetics, in the largest penalty imposed to date under the European “Digital Services Law.”
According to an Agence France-Presse report from Brussels, the European Union concluded that Ali Express did not take sufficient measures to prevent the sale of counterfeit products, and that a large portion of the violating goods remained on display on the Internet for several weeks, even after the platform monitored their sale.
The decision came as a result of an investigation launched in March 2024, which concluded that a number of products offered through the platform did not meet the strict environmental and safety standards adopted within the European Union.
European Union Technology Officer Hina Virkkonen said in a statement, “Risks must be identified and dealt with systematically to ensure that consumers can shop online safely. Today we call on Ali Express to adhere to this standard, and we ask it to take the necessary measures.”
The fine is the largest ever under the “Digital Services Law” in force in the European Union, which is one of the most prominent tools used by the bloc to control the work of major technology companies, and it entered into force in 2022.
For its part, Ali Express criticized the decision, describing the fine as “disproportionate” and “does not adequately reflect our existing framework and the significant improvements and effectiveness we have made,” noting that it is considering “all options.”
The European Union explained that the value of the fine was calculated based on the nature of the violations, their impact on European consumers, and the period during which the violations continued.
“Ali Express” is the largest Chinese e-commerce platform within the European Union, as it is used by 193 million people, compared to 156 million users of the giant Asian clothing selling group “Shein”, and 130 million users of the “Temo” retail platform.
A high-ranking European official said that the European Union constitutes the largest market for Ali Express.
Under the “Digital Services Law,” the most popular digital platforms, including social media networks and retail platforms, are required to assess the risks resulting from their activity and take effective measures to address them.
The European Union confirmed that Ali Express “overestimated the effectiveness of its system in monitoring and removing illegal products.”
According to the European official, millions of products were reappearing in stores, while the platform continued to suggest them to users before removing them, and it also allowed entities that sell these violating products to continue their activity on the platform.
In recent years, the European Union has intensified its efforts to confront what it considers to be unfair competition from Chinese retail companies, and has taken steps, including imposing a fine of 3 euros this month on low-priced packages entering the bloc’s countries.
But Virkkonen stressed that the European Union is not targeting platforms based on their assets, but rather on the extent to which they adhere to the rules imposed within the European market.
The fine reveals that Brussels no longer deals with major digital platforms as mere intermediaries for sale, but rather as entities directly responsible for every product that remains on display in front of millions of consumers.
