After fining Elon Musk’s X, Brussels is going after unsafe online practices by AliExpress, China’s rival to Amazon.
(CN) — Trade tensions between China and Europe worsened Monday after the European Union slapped a record 550-million-euro fine on AliExpress, China’s rival to Amazon.
The $630 million fine was only the third imposed by the EU for violations of its Digital Services Act, an online safety law in effect since 2023.
The EU accused AliExpress of failing to prevent deficient, unsafe and counterfeit products from being sold in Europe.
In December, the EU meted out a 120-million-euro fine to Elon Musk’s X platform for violations of the Digital Services Act. Last week, X agreed to open its data to outside auditors, as requested by the EU, in response to the fine. The EU’s top court, the European Court of Justice, is reviewing that fine.
“Under the Digital Services Act, the very large online platforms are obliged to assess and mitigate systemic risks, including the risk of illegal products being available on online platforms,” said Thomas Regnier, a European Commission spokesman.
AliExpress is one of the world’s busiest e-commerce sites. Alibaba was founded by Jack Ma and others in 1999.
“We are surprised by the EU decision and disproportionate fine,” AliExpress said in a statement.
The company said it would appeal the decision.
“AliExpress has been and continues to be committed to meeting our obligations to consumers,” it said.
Details of the probe — and specifics about what AliExpress did wrong — remained confidential, Regnier said.
Brussels sees its mission as reining in ubiquitous bad online practices by global tech companies, such as weak privacy safeguards and abusive personalized advertising.
Monday’s announcement came amid a broader push in Europe to fend off a surge in Chinese imports, especially in electric vehicles and green tech.
Trade relations are at an extremely low point and there is danger of a full-scale trade war erupting between two of the world’s biggest trade partners.
The EU has also opened probes against Shein and Temu, other major Chinese retail websites. Last month, the EU began charging a new duty on small-parcel shipments from China.
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.
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