The European Union also sent information requests to tech giants about their use of generative artificial intelligence.
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into Chinese e-commerce site AliExpress over concerns about illegal and pornographic content on its platform.
In a statement on Thursday, the European Union's executive arm said it would investigate the e-commerce giant under its Digital Services Act (DSA), a law that requires companies to do more to tackle illegal and harmful products in their platforms.
The investigation will determine whether AliExpress violated the DSA in “areas related to risk management and mitigation, content moderation and the internal complaint management mechanism, transparency of advertising and recommendation systems, [and] to the traceability of traders and access to data for researchers,” the commission said.
The sale of fake medicines, foods and dietary supplements, as well as pornographic material that the commission says minors can still access on the website, are major problems, the statement said.
Other areas of investigation are how AliExpress recommends products to buyers and whether the site complies with a rule requiring a repository of searchable ads provided on the platform.
The move followed a “request for information” order that the EU sent to Alibaba Group Holding Limited, owners of AliExpress, last November, in what was the first stage of the investigation.
In recent months, the EU has challenged the power of big tech companies with the DSA (which first came into force last August) and a sister law, the Digital Markets Act.
Both policies have hit tech giants with strict restrictions and obligations on how they do business. So far, they have targeted “very large” platforms with more than 45 million monthly European users.
Platforms face fines that can reach up to six percent of their global turnover for violations.
“The Digital Services Act is not just about hate speech, disinformation and cyberbullying,” Thierry Breton, head of internal markets at the European Commission, said Thursday.
“It is also there to guarantee [the] elimination of illegal or unsafe products… This is non-negotiable.”
#DSA now running at full speed
– today:🔹Research on #AliExpress on the fight against the circulation of illegal products
Information request:
🔹 #LinkedIn in targeted advertising
🔹 Large 8v platforms. about the risks it poses #GenerativeIA
Law enforcement teams fully mobilized 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/vMbpQh2pRW
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) March 14, 2024
On Thursday, the commission also sent information requests to Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter) and others about their use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Officials said they will examine whether companies conduct risk assessments and have risk mitigation measures to address potentially harmful generative AI content.
Microsoft's LinkedIn will come under separate scrutiny over whether it allows profiling on its advertising service following a complaint from civil society organizations.
In early February, the commission opened formal investigations into TikTok over concerns that the site violated transparency, child protection and addictive design rules.
Investigations into Meta and X for their regulation of disinformation about Israel's ongoing war against Gaza were also announced in December.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament gave the green light to the Artificial Intelligence Law, the world's first set of rules to regulate AI. The law is expected to be endorsed by the European Council in May.
