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Is AliExpress legit? What the EU fined it €550 million for

By LookedApp · Published

AliExpress - Shopping App icon

On July 20, 2026, the European Commission fined AliExpress €550 million under the Digital Services Act. The Commission says the company failed to diligently assess and reduce the risk of illegal, unsafe or counterfeit products being sold on its platform. AliExpress was ordered to take action, and failing to comply with the decision "may lead to periodic penalty payments."

A year earlier

On June 18, 2025, the Commission did two things at once. It preliminarily found AliExpress in breach of its obligation to assess and mitigate risks from illegal products. Separately, it made a set of AliExpress commitments binding for five years, covering concerns such as advertising and recommender-system transparency. Any breach of those commitments "would immediately result in a breach of the DSA and could therefore lead to fines."

Among the commitments:

  • Third-party controls on "hidden links" practices, meaning fake listings used to sell illegal, usually counterfeit products, with stronger penalties for sellers and affiliates involved.
  • Enhanced checks on food supplement sellers, plus a third-party screen for prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
  • Every ad marked as an ad, and a searchable ad repository.
  • Stricter seller verification, with seller information reachable from the product listing.

The U.S. app listing

Apple's U.S. listing (as of Nov 9, 2026) shows the seller as Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce Private Limited and the developer as Alibaba. The app is free, with about 693,000 ratings averaging 4.7.

The developer's privacy label says Identifiers may be used to track you across other companies' apps and websites. Data linked to you includes user ID, device ID, precise and coarse location, photos or videos, search history, payment info, physical address, email, name and phone number.

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