Brussels Fines AliExpress 550 Million Euros Over Unsafe Goods

The European Commission on Sunday, July 20, fined the Chinese platform AliExpress 550 million euros for breaching the obligations set out in the Digital Services Act and for enabling the sale of unsafe and counterfeit goods across the single market. It is one of the highest single penalties Brussels has imposed on an online platform under that regulation so far, and the decision spills over into Serbia as well, since local shoppers order heavily from the platform.

The Commission’s investigation found that AliExpress enabled the distribution of unsafe toys, potentially dangerous cosmetics and counterfeit products, alongside a series of failures to enforce the obligations the digital act places on large platforms. Brussels specifically cited an inadequate assessment of the risk from illegal and counterfeit items, insufficient staff assigned to moderating content and products, and algorithms that recommended prohibited goods to users and further promoted them through advertising.

Why the fine is so high

The Digital Services Act, known by its DSA acronym, imposes stricter oversight duties on large platforms over what is sold through them and empowers the Commission to levy fines of up to six percent of an offender’s annual global turnover. The figure of 550 million euros shows that Brussels no longer treats its dispute with low-value Chinese traders as an administrative formality, but as a matter of consumer protection and fair competition toward European firms that pay taxes and meet safety standards.

The Commission has given AliExpress until October 20, 2026, to submit a corrective action plan and address the identified shortcomings. If the platform fails to do so, further financial penalties will follow. Brussels also singled out weak oversight of traders offering unlawful goods and ineffective brand authentication systems that left room for counterfeits.

The decision comes only weeks after the Union, on July 1, introduced a temporary customs charge of three euros on small parcels worth up to 150 euros from countries outside the EU. Together, the two moves shape a new Brussels policy toward the flood of cheap goods, largely from China, whose business model rests on the mass sale of items of low individual value.

What the decision means for shoppers in Serbia

Serbia is not a member of the Union and its legal framework does not change automatically with this decision, yet the consequences are felt here too. AliExpress is among the most widely used online shopping platforms in the country, and a shift in business policy forced by Brussels rarely stops at the external border of a single market. If the platform tightens control over sellers and pulls some disputed items, shoppers here who order from the same global catalogs will feel it as well.

For Serbia’s economy and regulators, this is also a signal of where the product safety standard on the European market is heading, one to which the domestic oversight system will have to adapt through the accession process. The open question is whether Brussels pressure will push large Chinese platforms to genuinely raise their level of control, or whether they will treat the fines as a cost of doing business.

Will this change your habit of ordering from Chinese platforms, or is the low price still the decisive argument?