Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Commission declared that, in violation of the EU’s Digital Service Act, Chinese e-commerce site AliExpress had not taken steps to reduce the dangers associated with the online distribution of illicit goods. As Brussels continues to use historic legislation to regulate online enterprises, the EU is accusing Chinese online marketplace AliExpress of violating the bloc’s digital regulations.
The EU Commission issued preliminary findings on Wednesday, expressing concerns about AliExpress’s inadequate measures to prevent the spread of illegal content, including counterfeit goods and unsafe products. Brussels also criticized the company for failing to enforce its penalty policy effectively against traders who repeatedly post illegal content.
Why is the EU targeting AliExpress under the DSA?
According to the Commission’s initial finding, the China-based online marketplace has not allocated enough resources to its moderation system, allowing illegal products to be sold without proper oversight on its platform. Additionally, the investigation revealed that AliExpress has not put in place a clear “penalty policy” for traders who repeatedly post illegal products online. The probe also uncovered systemic flaws in the online retailer’s content moderation systems.
According to a Commission spokesperson, the DSA probe focused on three main categories of products: those that were illegal, dangerous, or counterfeit.
Are AliExpress’s commitments enough to satisfy regulators?
As a further step, AliExpress has made commitments to address concerns raised by the Commission in other DSA probes, which were also launched in March of last year. These concerns relate to the marketplace’s notice and action mechanism, recommender systems, and tracking traders, among other issues.
One key commitment is that AliExpress will track and identify illegal products, including those being spread through hidden links and affiliate programs, such as medicines and dietary supplements, which may pose health risks to users. The Commission has made these commitments legally binding today. Any breach of AliExpress’s agreements could result in fines.
Today, the Commission announced that its two decisions address all the concerns it raised in its formal proceedings against the online marketplace last year.
What did the EU’s 2024 probe into AliExpress find?
In March 2024, the European Commission commenced formal investigation proceedings against AliExpress under the Digital Services Act. Formal investigation proceedings were opened on March 14, 2024, which followed a preliminary investigation consisting of AliExpress’s risk assessment report from August 2023 and from AliExpress’s responses to the Commission’s information requests in November 2023 and January 2024.
