Brussels, 20 July 2026 (dpa/MIA) - The European Commission announced a €550 million ($628.7 million) fine on Chinese online marketplace AliExpress on Monday for the sale of illegal goods.

The online retail giant, which belongs to the Alibaba Group, had failed for weeks to remove items such as counterfeit clothes, unsafe toys and dangerous cosmetics from its platform, the commission found, noting that the company had not done enough to protect EU consumers from such products.

"The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online - it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations under the Digital Services Act," said commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen. 

Traders who should have been penalized by AliExpress for selling illegal products on the platform were in some cases let off the hook and were often able to continue their business, according to the commission.

The online giant was also accused of not having sufficient staff to check potentially illegal products. Inspectors had too heavy a workload, the commission said. Illegal products were even being recommended or promoted before AliExpress removed them from the platform. 

Tests by the Brussels regulator showed that, despite the company's monitoring efforts, large numbers of counterfeit T-shirts, shoes and unsafe children's toys remained in circulation.

AliExpress now has until October 20 to outline a plan to remedy its breaches.

MIA file photo