Toys and dangerous cosmetics: Brussels fines AliExpress for sale of illegal products
The European Commission applies an economic sanction of €550M to the Chinese platform
BrusselsThe European Commission has announced a fine of 550 million euros to the Chinese e-commerce platform AliExpress for the sale of illegal products online to European customers. The Community executive has concluded in an investigation that the Asian company does not comply with the Community directive on digital rights, because it does not "diligently" assess or mitigate the risks related to the products offered and purchasable on its website. And for this reason, Brussels urges it to adopt measures and threatens it with new additional economic sanctions if it disobeys the demands of the Community authorities.
Some of the examples given by the European Commission of products that can be found on this platform include all kinds of cosmetics that can be dangerous to health, unsafe toys, or counterfeit clothing. "The risks must be identified and addressed systematically to ensure that consumers can shop online safely. We demand that AliExpress comply with this standard and we ask it to act," states in a statement issued this Monday the European Commissioner for Technological Sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen.
Should the Chinese company fail to take measures to comply with European law, Brussels warns that it may apply periodic sanctions until it ceases to violate it. In fact, the European Commission reminds it that it now has until October 20th of this year to present an action plan, which will be evaluated by the Community authorities. If they accept it, they will agree with AliExpress a "reasonable" period for implementation.
More investigations in Chinese companies
It is the highest economic fine from the European Commission against a company that violates digital rights law by selling illegal products online, but it is not the first. Not long ago, Brussels imposed a fine of 200 million euros on the also Chinese platform Temu for the same reason that has fined AliExpress this Monday. In addition, Brussels has another investigation open into the fast fashion online store Shein – also from China – for the sale of illegal products, such as child-looking sex dolls, and for the addictive design of its website.
A report from the same Commission already warned in 2023 that half of the dangerous products sold online in the EU are manufactured or marketed by companies based in China, especially e-commerce platforms. The sanctions imposed on these companies by Brussels are part of a broader context of trade tensions between the Asian giant and the Twenty-Seven, which is added to what each has in parallel with the United States.