Aliexpress may have violated the Digital Services Act (DSA). The famous Chinese e-commerce platform, belonging to the Alibaba group, ended up at the center of an in-depth investigation by the European Commission. The analysis work began on March 14, 2024 and led to the preliminary basis, the failure to comply with the obligation to evaluate and reduce the risks connected to the spread of illegal products.
The EU investigation
The EU executive also accepted and made legally binding a series of Commitments presented by Aliexpress. This in order to face critical issues such as:
- transparency on advertising;
- operation of the platform recommendation systems.
According to an official of the Commission, it is “one of the most expensive investigations conducted against a large online platform “, formally started a year ago and focused on different aspects of respect for DSA.
Aliexpress’s problems for Europe
The gaze of the European Commission is severely placed on various international giants. The EU legislation, aimed at guaranteeing a safer and more responsible digital space for citizens and businesses, requires online platforms a series of stringent obligations.
With 104.3 million active users in the EU declared in April 2023, Aliexpress was classified as Very Large Online Platform (VLOP), a category subject to particularly rigorous requirements provided for by DSA.
What the EU asks
Among the accusations made there are:
- compliance with measures to evaluate and reduce the systemic risks related to the spread of illegal content and the protection of consumers;
- presence on the platform of products prohibited by the terms of service, such as counterfeit medicines, unsafe supplements and unsuitable material for minors;
- absence of effective measures to prevent the spread of illegal content.
- lack of tools to counter manipulation through hidden connections.
- Risks related to the promotion of illegal or harmful products by affiliated influencers.
- obligation to allow the reporting of illegal content even to unregistered users and confirm the reception.
- obligation to have an effective internal system for the management of complaints.
- Collection and verification of information on professional sellers, also within the affiliated program.
- transparency on the criteria of the recommendation systems and the possibility of choosing an option not based on profiling.
- presence of a reliable and consulted register of advertisements.
- Access to the publicly available data of the platform by researchers, as required by DSA.
Thierry BretonCommissioner for the internal market, said:
“The law on digital services does not concern only the incitement to hatred, disinformation and cyberbullying. There is also the objective of guaranteeing the removal of illegal or unsafe products sold in the EU through the electronic commerce platforms. This is not negotiable to operate in the single EU market”.
Aliexpress is a very important platform, capable of reaching more than 100 million users among the countries of the European Union, he underlined. For this reason, it is crucial that respects the legeg on digital services in full, adopting proportionate measures in the fight against the spread of dangerous goods for the greeting of the Cosnumators. This also applies to “own” influencers, or those who are linked to the giant’s affiliated program.
Aliexpress’s note
The company, following the publication of the article, contacted the quifinance editorial staff by communicating the following:
“We have collaborated in a proactive and constant way with the European Commission from the beginning of this process and we will continue to do so with the same commitment. As highlighted by today’s announcement, the Commission has recognized our responsible approach, aimed at guaranteeing a high level of consumer protection and transparency, as demonstrated by the amplitude and scope of the voluntary commitments proposed and agreed by us”.
The company underlined the commitment to currently agreed. He spoke of “constructive dialogue” with the EU Commission, in order to resolve any residual critical issues.
