EU Commission Calls for Improvements from AliExpress in DSA Procedure

The European Commission has identified significant areas requiring improvement in the risk management practices of AliExpress, the online marketplace operated by China's Alibaba Group. This assessment was revealed in preliminary findings from an ongoing investigation that has been in progress for over a year.

While AliExpress has successfully addressed some of the issues raised by the EU through a self-commitment, such as allowing logged-out users to report content and enhancing the traceability of seller information, critical concerns remain.

A primary focus of the investigation is AliExpress's handling of products deemed illegal within the EU. This includes items like unsafe children's toys, inadequately secured electronics, and cosmetics or adult products containing harmful substances. Although the platform does remove products flagged as unsafe by market surveillance authorities, EU officials noted that AliExpress fails to sufficiently prevent the re-listing of identical unsafe products.

The Commission has been monitoring AliExpress since the fall of 2023 and initiated formal proceedings in March 2024, based on the Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes stringent regulations on very large online platforms. According to the Commission, AliExpress has shown a cooperative attitude throughout the process.

Henna Virkkunen, Vice-President of the EU Commission, stated that the Commission has been able to take concrete steps to ensure a high level of safety for EU citizens while maintaining fair competition for platforms and vendors in the EU market. AliExpress is now invited to respond to these preliminary findings. If the company can effectively address the additional concerns identified by the Commission, it could avoid potential fines.