AliExpress Hit With Record $625 Million Fine After Failing To Make EU-Ordered Fixes (arstechnica.com)
- Reference: 0184527114
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/07/20/1751219/aliexpress-hit-with-record-625-million-fine-after-failing-to-make-eu-ordered-fixes
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/aliexpress-fined-625m-for-failing-to-remove-unsafe-toys-dangerous-cosmetics/
> For shady sellers, the risks of detection appeared low. The e-commerce site's mandatory brand authorization system was also ineffective and understaffed, the EC found, and AliExpress did not penalize traders for selling illegal products as its policy claims it would. Making things worse, AliExpress "inadequately assessed how its recommender and advertising systems exacerbate the spread of illegal products," the EC said. So rather than remove illegal products, AliExpress was recommending them to consumers and helping to maximize exposure. Talking to the press, the European Union's tech chief, Henna Virkkunen, noted that one in five Europeans shop monthly at retail sites like AliExpress, Temu, and Shein.
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> AliExpress also relied on a single quantitative metric to gauge how effectively its systems were working to weed out illegal products. And that metric did not properly measure the extent of the harm. EC testing found that "a high volume of illegal products" -- including unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics -- "continued to circulate despite AliExpress' moderation efforts." In June 2025, AliExpress was ordered to bring its platform into compliance with the DSA but failed to make the necessary changes, the EC said. The fine was calculated to be proportionate to the nature of the violations, which the EC considered "particularly serious infringements," and to penalize AliExpress's delayed interventions to mitigate flagged risks.
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> [...] AliExpress told Ars it was "surprised" by the "disproportionate" fine. AliExpress said it plans to appeal the decision, claiming the EC ignored its "sound risk management framework and the significant, proactive enhancements we have made." The massive online retailer noted that its EU market is substantially smaller than its China market and said that it invests "substantial resources in risk assessment and mitigation, product safety and consumer protection" and "has been and continues to be committed to meeting our obligations to consumers."
[1] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/aliexpress-fined-625m-for-failing-to-remove-unsafe-toys-dangerous-cosmetics/
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_1654
Does EU has any authority over it? (Score:1)
I wonder. Ali Express is in China... Why would they care what EU does?
Re:Does EU has any authority over it? (Score:4, Informative)
They do business in the EU. If you do business in a country, you are subject to their rules and regulations.
Re: (Score:1)
They won't pay, and nobody will be able to make them.
Re:Does EU has any authority over it? (Score:4, Insightful)
What is it with the legal fan-fiction about EU here in Slashdot where people think European laws are optionals. When US fines an EU company you never see these remarks.
Ali has subsidiaries in Europe, billions in revenue, data centers. How do you exactly see that play out that they decide not to pay a fine? They will just decide to give up on billions to save millions? And then nobody that works for Ali can enter Europe again? Is that your legal strategy?
Re: (Score:2)
Presumably, refusing to pay the fine would be a criminal act and so they may issue arrest warrants for any officer of the company should they set foot in the EU.
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There was an extended period of time that executives for DeBeers (the diamond company) couldn't enter the US without being arrested for anti-trust violations. It's not an idle threat.
There's also the option of just refusing to allow any goods to enter the EU from Ali, period.
Re: (Score:2)
You're right, but when was the last time the US fined an EU company? VW, for the diesel thing, was the last one I remember.
Re: (Score:3)
> You're right, but when was the last time the US fined an EU company? VW, for the diesel thing, was the last one I remember.
Are courts open today? If so, probably today. Most recent one to hit the news was Bosch, that last month got a 36M dollar fine.
In this size class, in the past few years you had large fines for Credit Suisse, SAP, Gunvor Group, Trafigura, Ericsson, UBS.
Of course the US likes to just fine entire continents and countries at once using illegal tariffs through executive orders. But that's not quite the same thing as no court is involved there.
Re: (Score:2)
Thank you! I appreciate the useful and informative response! I was expecting someone to call me a dickhead for asking.
You know, SAP being fined in Europe got a story here. Why wasn't there one about their US fine for bribery? Why does it seem like we only hear about the EU fines? I had to go back to 2015 to find anything about SAP getting in trouble with the US government, but they got busted under FINRA just last year. You'd think maybe a US-centric bias, but EU company fined in US should be at le
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah that's fair. US companies are more tech heavy so I guess make more sense for Slashdot. So I guess people would not have the ability to make the same comments the other way around. I doubt you would see them though. I think most commenters understand that Deutsche bank isn't going to leave the US over some fine of 1% of their income in the US. Yet many fully expect Apple or Google to do contempt of court, rack up criminal charges and lose their asset in the EU over some 1% fine of their EU income.
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I don't know when was the last time, but the US fines European companies all the time, for all sorts of things, even things they do outside the US. For example, in 2024 they find SAP, a German software company, for a bribery scheme that took place in Panama (http://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024-4). The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prohibits companies that do business in the US from bribing officials anywhere in the world. At least the EU sticks to fining companies for shit they do in the
Re: (Score:2)
> What is it with the legal fan-fiction about EU here in Slashdot where people think European laws are optionals.
In America the laws literally are optional for the rich and powerful. If you do get convicted you simply purchase a pardon for $1 million.
It's a mental illness.
Re: (Score:2)
This would be true if they have offices in there. Do they? Ali Express may well be doing something like this, but the way I used it.. Just order from them and they send the product by mail, I am not sure this qualifies for "doing business in EU".
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But they're collecting payment via banks in the EU, who will not hesitate to tell those banks to refuse all transactions from Ali if they feel the need to.
Re: Does EU has any authority over it? (Score:3)
They explicitly starte if a product is available for purchase by a citizen living in a EU country, or not. For some products, they explicitly state the product is shipped from a warehouse located in the EU. It can't be more clear, they are conducting businesses in the EU.
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Let's imagine Ali Express has no local representation in the EU and thus a fine cannot be enforced. They can then choose to not pay. And the EU can choose to not allow any merchandise shipped from Ali Express into the EU. That's the largest single market on the planet they'd be kissing goodbye. Somehow, I figure they care.
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And they're processing transactions through EU banks. Don't want to follow EU law? Then you don't get to collect EU money. Half a dozen phone calls, and Ali isn't doing business in the EU at all .
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If they're shipping physical product, that product goes through Customs at the EU border. Or it doesn't go through, as the case may be.
Re: Does EU has any authority over it? (Score:2)
The have warehouses across the world they can ship from, including in the EU. At least according to Google Search AI that linked me to a blog post that seems to require you be already logged into AliExpress (as per Google Search AI). And I don't have an account. So some quantity of salt needed here. Their own FAQ about import duties does mention "shipped from within the EU", which I doubt they would mention if they didn't ship from within the EU.
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EU can easily have their ISPs block the Ali Express website.
It is slightly harder but still possible to block all shipping from China.
They could still sell digital content via another web site. But that would still be a miniscule portion of their profits.
If Ali Express wants to do business in Europe they have to obey the laws of Europe or have their business be blocked both online and via shipping.
Not surprising AE basically brushed off the EU (Score:3)
Those products are a significant percentage of its business, they basically took the street vendors and gave them a global marketplace. You no longer need to go to Asia to get a high quality counterfeit football jersey or shoddy electrical appliance. It's even easier for the vendor, get cutoff and open under a new name. No new storefront to find, no goods to mov or hide from spot checks when the government decides to 'crack down' due to pressure from manufacturers. The quality varies greatly depending on product category, the bolts, screws, random hardware to use in 3D printed stuff, screen protectors, yard flags etc. were all fine and a fraction of Amazon's cost from a reshipper.
Amazon's actions will be interesting because it seems pretty clear that some of the sellers are just drop shipping from the same sources in China and marking it up to cover Amazon's costs and shipping.
Re: Not surprising AE basically brushed off the EU (Score:2)
A huge percentage of what's on Amazon is clearly drop shipped from AliExpress, and most of the rest of it was sourced from AliBaba. I buy the same shit from China directly for a third to two thirds of the Amazon price.
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> A huge percentage of what's on Amazon is clearly drop shipped from AliExpress, and most of the rest of it was sourced from AliBaba. I buy the same shit from China directly for a third to two thirds of the Amazon price.
I do the same unless I need it faster and the price delta is small enough.
Chinese flea markets (Score:3)
Buy things from Chinese flea markets, expect to get fleas.
Specifically... (Score:2)
â550m. (The EU doesn't levy fines in dollars)
Re: Specifically... (Score:3)
F***ing Slashdot. EUR 550m
Way too small fine. (Score:2)
The fine amounts to less than â1/$1 per order when smeared out over half a year. It's nothing compared to the yearly revenue. The fine should be 10x as large to make a difference.
What Will Urop Do Without AliExpress (Score:2)
Is this a huge win for Temu?
Does Europe have other options for cheap Chinese crap?
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah Europe has other better options. Don't import ANY cheap CCP shite. Use-it-here-make-it-here ... or do without. A robust discipline for body and spirit in Europe and in America.
But does Baba even care? (Score:2)
Sell trinkets to foreigners for profit, does it matter if it is all fake, junk, or even dangerous to the buyer?
Henna Virkkunen (Score:2)
That name keeps turning up. She running for something, or just throwing weight around?
Re: (Score:2)
There is a lot of shady "somebody else's problem" to deal with lately. There is zero reason for a Bitcoin ATM to exist at a supermarket or laundromat. 99.9% of their profit comes from enabling fraud.
Re: Amazon (Score:2)
Modern "innovation" is scams all the way down. From B. S. crypto to taxis disguised as "ride sharing" with no employees, only gig contract workers. Some countries are calling the scams out, while the grift thrives in most places.
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AliExpress and Amazon are both cesspools, where thousands of sellers sell identical or nearly identical products under different brand names with different markup. And most of the products are trash.
Case in point, I bought a bunch of metric bolts and nuts at Amazon, and they wouldn't screw onto each other. They would get to some random point and the nuts would stop turning. Sometimes it was half an inch up, sometimes it was two inches up, but the failure rate was something like 40% and I budgeted for 20
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My problem with Amazon lately has been more about shipping, and how at least a third of the things I order get lost or show up late. I was looking for a new AP. A specific model from a specific brand. Amazon gave me a massive list of other crap, and the one seller who had what I was looking for wanted $20+ for 5-day shipping. Walmart, of all places, only showed me what I searched for, was the cheapest option, and I got it a day earlier than they said.
What the hell happened?
Re: (Score:2)
Amazon's search function is pretty much useless and has been for a while. The best way to find the specific product you're looking for on Amazon is to search on Google (and that's not exactly great, it just sucks less than Amazon's search).
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"Oh, you're looking for a specific part number? Let me show you anything related to it, and maybe I'll include what you're actually looking for. Good luck!"
I hate it. I think their policy must be to always return as many results as possible, even if they don't have whatever is being searched. I searched Walmart for a U7 Lite and got exactly one result. It was even the same seller that had it on Amazon, but I didn't get charged shipping.
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The Amazon seller was probably going to buy it from Walmart and mark it up.
Re: (Score:2)
> AliExpress and Amazon are both cesspools
Yes, and my personal impression is that lately, the EU goes after Chinese direct importers much more than they go after imports facilitated via Amazon. And not for good reason, but just because of a generic "China bad" attitude. If the same strict regulations were applied to every company, then not only Amazon, but also Otto and other online retailers that facilitate some sort of "marketplace" would have to pay huge fines.