Chinese online shopping site AliExpress said it was improving controls to comply with European Union regulations, reports Reuters. This comes as European lawmakers grilled executives over sales of dangerous and counterfeit products in the bloc.
The EU has ramped up scrutiny of fast-growing online platforms like AliExpress, Temu, and Shein which ship cheap products made in China into the bloc duty-free thanks to a waiver on low-value ecommerce parcels. Last month the EU opened a formal investigation into Shein under the Digital Services Act, its landmark regulation covering major platforms.
Alibaba-owned AliExpress, the company’s platform selling in more than 200 countries, has been under investigation by the European Commission since March 2024 and in June agreed to legally binding to improve its controls. But in November, Reuters found childlike sex dolls for sale on AliExpress, leading the platform to say it had banned the China-based seller of the products.