Alibaba Group’s cross-border e-commerce platform AliExpress has vowed to challenge a €550 million ($629 million) fine imposed by the European Union, setting the stage for another high-profile legal battle between Brussels and a major global technology company as regulators intensify enforcement of the bloc’s sweeping digital rulebook.
The penalty, announced Monday by the European Commission, is among the largest sanctions issued under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and boosts the EU’s determination to hold large online platforms accountable for the products and content distributed through their services. The decision also signals that Chinese technology companies, alongside their U.S. counterparts, remain firmly in the crosshairs of European regulators as scrutiny of digital marketplaces reaches unprecedented levels.
AliExpress said it would appeal the ruling, arguing that the Commission’s decision failed to recognize the extensive compliance measures it had already introduced.
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“We are surprised by the EU decision and disproportionate fine and we disagree,” the company said in a statement to the South China Morning Post.
The Alibaba-owned marketplace described the financial penalty as excessive and said it did not reflect the “significant, proactive enhancements” it had voluntarily implemented to comply with the evolving obligations imposed under the DSA. According to the company, Alibaba has made “many improvements and voluntary commitments” designed to strengthen consumer protection and align its operations with Europe’s stringent digital governance framework.
European regulators, however, concluded those efforts fell well short of what the law requires.
In its decision, the Commission said AliExpress failed to “diligently assess risks” and “mitigate identified systemic risks” associated with the sale and promotion of illegal, counterfeit and unsafe products across its marketplace.
Regulators found that the company overstated the effectiveness of its systems for detecting and removing prohibited listings while failing to deploy sufficient human moderators to oversee the enormous volume of goods sold on the platform.
Commission investigations found that counterfeit merchandise, unsafe toys and potentially hazardous cosmetic products continued to be recommended and advertised to consumers before eventually being removed. Officials also said a “high volume” of illegal listings remained accessible despite AliExpress’ content moderation systems.
The Commission concluded that these shortcomings exposed European consumers to unacceptable risks and undermined the platform’s legal obligations under the Digital Services Act. AliExpress has until October 20 to submit a detailed compliance plan outlining how it intends to address the violations identified by regulators and strengthen its product safety and enforcement systems.
Europe Intensifies Oversight of Chinese Online Marketplaces
The decision comes as Chinese e-commerce platforms have rapidly expanded across Europe, challenging established retailers by offering ultra-low-priced goods shipped directly from manufacturers.
Platforms such as AliExpress, Temu and Shein have captured millions of European consumers through aggressive pricing, broad product selection and cross-border logistics networks. Their rapid rise, however, has also drawn mounting criticism from policymakers concerned about counterfeit merchandise, unsafe consumer products, product traceability and the ability of regulators to enforce European safety standards on overseas sellers.
The AliExpress case illustrates how Brussels is shifting from drafting digital regulations to aggressively enforcing them.
The Digital Services Act, together with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), represents the European Union’s most comprehensive attempt to reshape the digital economy by imposing stricter responsibilities on the world’s largest online platforms. The legislation requires companies designated as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) to identify systemic risks, remove illegal content more effectively, improve transparency, and better protect consumers.
Unlike previous regulatory frameworks, the DSA gives the European Commission direct supervisory powers over the largest digital platforms and authorizes fines of up to 6% of a company’s annual global revenue for serious violations, making compliance a significant financial priority for global technology firms.
Big Tech’s Regulatory Headaches In Europe Show No Signs of Easing
The AliExpress fine adds to a growing list of enforcement actions demonstrating that regulatory pressure on major technology companies in Europe continues to intensify rather than recede.
European authorities have increasingly targeted both American and Chinese technology firms under the DSA and DMA, reflecting Brussels’ ambition to become the world’s most assertive digital regulator. In a social media post following Monday’s decision, European Commissioner for Industry Stephane Sejourne said the ruling showed that “the European single market is no longer a digital Far West.”
The latest action follows several other major enforcement cases.
Chinese e-commerce platform Temu was previously fined up to 6% of its annual global revenue for breaching the Digital Services Act.
Elon Musk’s social media platform X was hit with a €120 million fine last December under the same legislation, a move that triggered sharp criticism from the Trump administration over what it viewed as excessive European regulation of American technology companies.
Regulatory scrutiny is expected to widen further. The Financial Times reported last week that Brussels is preparing additional penalties worth “hundreds of millions of euros” against Google, adding to the company’s long history of antitrust and digital-market disputes with European authorities.
Together, these cases indicate that Europe has entered a new phase of digital regulation, one focused less on investigations and more on enforcement. For global technology companies, compliance with European digital laws has become a strategic business issue rather than merely a legal one.
However, the dispute extends beyond the immediate financial penalty for Alibaba.
A successful appeal could limit the scope of future DSA enforcement against online marketplaces, while an unsuccessful challenge could establish a stronger legal precedent for the Commission to pursue other global e-commerce platforms operating in Europe.
The case also arrives as Alibaba seeks to strengthen its international commerce business amid slowing domestic consumption in China. Europe remains one of AliExpress’ most important overseas markets, making regulatory compliance critical to its long-term expansion strategy.