The European Commission has taken two significant actions against the Chinese online marketplace AliExpress under the Digital Services Act (DSA) in a bid to enhance user and consumer safety online. The first action was to get AliExpress to commit to several legally binding commitments to address issues related to advertising and recommender systems.
The second action was the publication of preliminary findings which found that AliExpress had breached obligations regarding the spread of illegal products. AliExpress can now respond to the Commission but if the broken rules are confirmed then AliExpress can expect to be fined.
The Digital Services Act is a new tool that the EU has to regulate large online platforms. It aims to level the business playing field, protect fundamental rights of users, create a safer digital space, and improve transparency from businesses.
AliExpress"s pledges: More transparency, safer shopping
As part of the pledges made by AliExpress, it will do more to monitor and detect illegal products such as medicines, food supplements, and adult material propagated through hidden links and affiliate programs. To help flag illegal items, AliExpress has promised to improve its notice and action mechanism.
Other pledges include enhancements to the internal complaint handling system; more transparency for advertising and recommender systems; better traceability of traders on the platform; and improved data access for researchers.
By implementing these rules, the European Commission hopes it can make AliExpress safer for registered and non-registered users by limiting the exposure to illegal content.
Deep dive into AliExpress"s alleged failures
With regards to the preliminary findings, the Commission found that AliExpress had underestimated the risks because it had not allocated enough resources to moderation systems for illegal products. It also found that the company had failed to consistently enforce its penalty policy against those publishing illegal content.
The Commission also discovered systemic failures in AliExpress’s proactive content moderation systems that allowed malicious traders to continue to operate or start operating on the platform.
AliExpress is designated as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) which means it has to meet certain standards set out by the EU. The aforementioned violations are against the quality of operation that the EU expects from VLOPs.
The company now has the right to defend itself against the EC’s findings, it can examine the documents and reply in writing, but if the findings are confirmed, AliExpress could face fines and be required to submit an action plan.