The European Commission today reports the third investigation for violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). There are already ongoing investigations against social media platforms X and TikTok, but today, the first investigation into an online sales platform is opened. In it, the commission will look at whether AliExpress is selling illegal products.
The European Commission announced an official investigation into AliExpress under the DSA. Specifically, the commission wants to find out if AliExpress, part of the Alibaba Group, is selling illegal products. These would include counterfeit medicines, illegal food and banned dietary supplements.
The provider of the online sales platform is said to be breaking the law in several areas. The commission speaks of violations “in areas related to the management and mitigation of risks, to content moderation and the internal complaint handling mechanism, to the transparency of advertising and recommendation systems, to the traceability of merchants and to data access for investigators.”
LinkedIn advertising policy under scrutiny
The European Commission reports being made aware of a possible misuse of sensitive data in targeted ads on LinkedIn. Privacy interest groups filed a complaint about these problems a few weeks ago, and this complaint has been acted upon. A commission spokesperson said more information has been requested from LinkedIn. The platform is given until April 5 to forward information.
The DSA has been criminalized since Feb. 17. Interest groups and platform users have been able to raise possible violations since then. A violation carries a fine equivalent to six percent of annual sales.
At the same time that the law became punishable, its scope was expanded. All online platforms on which products and services are sold have since had to comply with the legislation.
Also read: How do you prepare for the DSA or DMA, if it applies to you?
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