EU’s AliExpress fine puts online product safety under scrutiny

The European Union has imposed a €550 million fine on AliExpress and paired it with new evidence that online imports are overwhelming traditional product-safety controls. The action marks a shift from planned monitoring to direct enforcement against a major marketplace.

On July 20, 2026, the European Commission said AliExpress breached the Digital Services Act by failing to adequately assess and reduce systemic risks linked to illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products. The decision concerns conduct evaluated through at least June 2025. It is a regulatory finding, not a criminal conviction, and it does not mean every product currently listed on AliExpress is unsafe.

What the Commission found

The Commission said AliExpress underestimated the staffing needed to review potentially illegal listings and overestimated the effectiveness of its detection and removal systems. It also found shortcomings in the platform’s recommender and advertising systems, which could expose shoppers to illegal products before they were removed.

According to the decision, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and counterfeit goods sometimes remained available for multiple weeks after detection. The Commission also cited weak enforcement of trader penalties, allowing some stores to remain active after sanctions.

Another weakness involved product categorization. The Commission said sellers could miscategorize goods to benefit from less demanding compliance requirements, while AliExpress lacked enough staff and effective controls to catch those listings before publication. Its brand-authorization process for preventing counterfeit goods was also described as ineffective and understaffed.

AliExpress told The Associated Press that it has invested substantial resources in risk assessment, product safety and consumer protection. The company disputed the proportionality of the fine, said the penalty did not reflect its existing framework and improvements, and said it was reviewing the decision and considering its options.

Why the customs figures matter

A same-day Commission customs report showed why regulators are under pressure. Around 6 billion items were released for free circulation in the EU in 2025, three times the 2022 volume. More than 97% of incoming shipments were e-commerce parcels, a scale that customs and market-surveillance authorities cannot easily manage through traditional checks.

The report also said more than 60% of sampled toys, small electronics, cosmetics, personal protective equipment and food supplements bought online from outside the EU failed EU product-compliance or safety requirements. That figure applies only to the products selected for the investigation. It is not a failure rate for all goods sold online.

The Commission said the EU control rate fell to 65 items per million imported in 2025, while goods ultimately refused at the border because of non-compliance or serious risks fell below 10 items per million. The figures are part of the case for broader customs reforms aimed at improving screening of small parcels.

What product testing shows

A June Commission campaign tested 173 electric and electronic products, including USB devices, kitchen appliances and personal-care items. Laboratory tests and documentation checks found 91 failures, or 53% of the sample. Online purchases had a higher failure rate: 49 of 69 online samples failed, compared with 37 of 104 products sampled from physical stores.

The campaign found hazardous substances including lead, cadmium, restricted plasticizers and flame retardants. It also identified missing or inadequate CE markings and missing information about an EU-based point of contact. Authorities notified businesses about the failures, withdrew or banned non-compliant products, and reported several products through the EU’s Safety Gate alert system.

What shoppers and businesses should watch

For consumers, the practical warning is not that every cross-border purchase is dangerous. It is that marketplace availability and a low price are not substitutes for seller identity, product documentation or compliance checks. Shoppers considering unfamiliar electronics, toys or cosmetics should check the seller’s location, look for required information and search the EU Safety Gate portal for alerts.

The EU rules apply to products placed on the EU market; they do not automatically give consumers outside the EU the same protections. For U.S. shoppers buying through cross-border platforms, the case is still relevant because it shows the limits of relying on a marketplace listing, a low price or a platform’s own product description as proof of safety.

For brands and legitimate sellers, stronger enforcement could mean higher documentation, testing and marketplace-compliance costs. It could also reduce competition from counterfeit or non-compliant products that avoid the safety and design expenses borne by established businesses.

What happens next

The immediate next step is AliExpress’s corrective-action plan, due to the Commission by October 20, 2026. The European Board for Digital Services will then have one month to issue an opinion, followed by a Commission decision on implementation. Failure to comply could lead to periodic penalty payments.

The EU’s planned 2026 product-safety sweep has not been completed. But the AliExpress decision, customs report and product-testing results show that enforcement is already moving ahead through marketplace oversight, border controls and targeted testing.

Consumers can use the Safety Gate portal before buying unfamiliar non-food products, while brands and sellers should expect closer scrutiny of documentation, trader identity, product categories and counterfeit controls. The next test will be whether AliExpress’s action plan produces measurable changes before the Commission’s follow-up review.

Sources

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