The European Commission has imposed a fine of $629 million on AliExpress, the Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform, for facilitating the sale of illegal goods within the European Union.
The penalty marks the third sanction levied under the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), underscoring the bloc's intensified regulatory scrutiny of major online marketplaces.
The fine targets systemic failures in AliExpress's content moderation and seller verification processes, which allowed prohibited items to reach EU consumers.
By holding the platform accountable for the actions of third-party sellers, the Commission is reinforcing the DSA's core principle that large online intermediaries must proactively mitigate risks associated with illegal content and products.
This development follows a broader wave of regulatory tightening in the EU digital economy.
Earlier this year, the bloc eliminated the customs exemption for low-value imports, ending the era of duty-free shopping for online purchases under €150.