The European Commission announced on Wednesday that e-commerce platform AliExpress has failed to mitigate risks related to the spread of illegal products online under the EU’s Digital Service Act.
The Commission’s preliminary finding is that the China-based online marketplace has failed to allocate adequate resources to its moderation system, allowing illegal products to circulate unchecked on its platform.
It also said AliExpress has failed to provide a “penalty policy” for traders who repeatedly post illegal products online. The investigation has shown systemic failures in the online retailer’s content moderation systems, too.
A Commission spokesperson said that the DSA probe looked at illegal, dangerous and counterfeit products as the main categories of products under investigation.
In a further development, AliExpress has provided commitments to address concerns raised by the Commission in additional DSA probes which were also opened in March of last year, including in relation to the marketplace’s notice and action mechanism, recommender systems, and traceability of traders, among other issues.
One such commitment is that AliExpress will monitor and detect illegal products, including those being spread through hidden links and affiliate programmes, such as medicines and food supplements which might pose risks to the health of users.
The commitments have been made legally binding by the Commission today. Any breach of what AliExpress has agreed to do could lead to fines.
The Commission has said that the two decisions it has taken today cover all the concerns that it opened in its formal proceedings against the online marketplace last year.
A spokesperson for AliExpress said the Commission has recognised “our committed approach to ensure a high level and transparency”, referencing the voluntary commitments the online marketplace has offered. Regarding the Commission’s preliminary breach decision, the spokesperson added that the online retailer is confident that “a compliant result will be achieved through continuing our mutual dialogue”.
(nl)
