Commission opens formal proceedings against AliExpress under the Digital Services Act

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The Commission has opened formal proceedings to assess whether AliExpress may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to the management and mitigation of risks, to content moderation and the internal complaint handling mechanism, to the transparency of advertising and recommender systems, to the traceability of traders and to data access for researchers.

On the basis of the preliminary investigation conducted so far, including the analysis of the risk assessment report sent by AliExpress in August 2023, the information published in its Transparency report and its replies to the Commission’s formal requests for information (from 6 November 2023 and 18 January 2024), the Commission has decided to open formal proceedings against AliExpress under the Digital Services Act.

The proceedings will focus on the following areas:

• The compliance with the DSA obligations related to the assessment and mitigation of the systemic risks of dissemination of illegal content, as well as actual or foreseeable negative effects forconsumer protection linked in particular to:
  • The lack of enforcement of AliExpress’ terms of service prohibiting certain products posing risks for consumers’ health (such as fake medicines and food as well as dietary supplements) and for minors specifically (access to pornographic material), which consumer can still find on the platform;
  • The lack of effective measures to prevent dissemination of illegal content;
  • The lack of effective measures to prevent intentional manipulation on the online platform through so-called ‘hidden links’; 
  • The lack of effective measures to prevent risks deriving from features, such as influencers promoting illegal or harmful products through the “Affiliate Programme” of AliExpress.
• The compliance with the DSA obligation to allow all users, including those who are not registered, to notify illegal content and to receive confirmation of the receipt of the notice;
• The compliance with the DSA obligation to provide an effective internal complaint-handling system;
• The compliance with the DSA obligation to gather and assess the reliability and completeness of the information requested from traders using AliExpress including in relation to traders within the “AliExpress Affiliate Program”, in line with the traceability of traders’ provision;  
• The compliance with the DSA obligation to provide transparency on the main parameters used in AliExpress’ recommender systems and to provide at least one option of recommender system not based on profiling;
• The compliance with the DSA obligation to provide a searchable and reliable repository for advertisements presented on AliExpress;  
• The compliance with the DSA obligation to give researchers access to AliExpress’ publicly accessible data as mandated by Article 40 of the DSA.

If proven, these failures would constitute infringements of Articles 16, 20, 26, 27, 30, 34, 35, 38, 39 and 40 of the DSA. The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation as a matter of priority. The opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge the outcome.

Next Steps

After the formal opening of proceedings, the Commission will continue to gather evidence, for example by sending additional requests for information, conducting interviews or inspections.

The opening of formal proceedings empowers the Commission to take further enforcement steps, such as interim measures ordering to terminate or remedy an infringement of Article 28(1), and non-compliance decisions. The Commission is also empowered to accept commitments made by AliExpress to remedy the matters subject to the proceeding.

The DSA does not set any legal deadline for bringing formal proceedings to an end. The duration of an in-depth investigation depends on several factors, including the complexity of the case, the extent to which the company concerned cooperates with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of defence.

The opening of formal proceedings relieves Digital Services Coordinators of their powers to supervise and enforce the DSA in relation to the suspected infringements of Articles 16, 20, 26, 27, 30.

The opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge its outcome or prejudge any other proceedings that the Commission may decide to initiate under other articles of the DSA. It is also without prejudice of enforcement actions undertaken by other authorities under other regulatory frameworks, for example, by the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network.

Background

AliExpress was designated as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) on 25 April 2023 under the EU’s Digital Services Act, following its declaration of having 104.3 million monthly active users in the EU. As a VLOP, four months from its designation, AliExpress had to start complying with a series of obligations set out in the DSA.

Since 17 February, the Digital Services Act applies to all online intermediaries in the EU.

For More Information

EU Official Journal text on the DSA 

Very large online platforms and search engines under the DSA 

The enforcement framework under the Digital Services Act

Digital Services Act – Questions and Answers

Quote(s)

Consumers’ protection, especially for minors, is an essential cornerstone of the Digital Services Act. AliExpress must respect its obligations to mitigate the systemic risks on its platform and apply all safeguard provisions to ensure its services are safe. The Commission will now assess its measures and verify their compliance with our rules.

Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age

The Digital Services Act is not just about hate speech, disinformation and cyberbullying. It is also there to ensure removal of illegal or unsafe products sold in the EU via e-commerce platforms. This is not negotiable to operate in the EU Single Market. As platform reaching over 100 million users in the EU, AliExpress must fully comply with the DSA and take proportionate action to fight the dissemination of dangerous goods for consumers’ health and for minors, including by influencers members of their “Affiliate Programme”. With the proceedings we launch today, we want to assess whether this is the case, and make sure no action is spared to safeguard our citizens.

Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market