2023-11-06 15:00:00
The European Commission announced on Monday the opening of an investigation targeting the Chinese online sales site Aliexpress concerning the alleged distribution of illegal products, including fake medicines. The Brussels executive explained that it had sent Aliexpress a formal request for information on the measures taken by this subsidiary of the Chinese giant Alibaba in order to protect consumers in accordance with the new European legislation on digital services (DSA) which came into force at the end of August .
Brussels had already opened three investigations in October targeting the social networks TikTok, , images and violent words, after the Hamas attacks against Israel. The investigation announced Monday is the first targeting e-commerce under the DSA regulation.
A first step
This regulation on digital services “does not only concern hate speech and disinformation […], it also aims to guarantee the withdrawal of illegal or dangerous products sold in the EU via online commerce platforms,” declared the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton. He warned of “the growing number of fake medicines and potentially deadly pharmaceuticals being sold online”.
The request for information sent to Aliexpress does not currently constitute an indictment. But this is the first step in a procedure which can lead to heavy financial sanctions in the event of proven and prolonged infringements of the regulations. In extreme cases, fines can reach 6% of the group’s global turnover.
Rules for 19 very large Internet players
Aliexpress must provide the information requested by the Commission no later than November 27, 2023. “Based on the evaluation of the responses, the Commission will determine the next steps,” it said in a press release. Since the end of August, the DSA has imposed stricter rules on 19 very large Internet players, including X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, as well as online sales giants Amazon and Alibaba.
These rules include the obligation to act “promptly” to remove any illicit content or to make access to it impossible as soon as the platform becomes aware of it. Online sales sites must also verify the identity of sellers before authorizing them on their platform and block repeat fraudsters. The illegal sale of medicines online, including counterfeit products or fake medicinal substances, has increased in recent years in the European Union, according to a report published by Europol and the EU Intellectual Property Office.
The majority of counterfeit pharmaceuticals are now distributed online and counterfeit pharmaceutical products are widely publicized on social media, according to this report covering the year 2022. European health authorities have, for example, alerted pharmacists at the end of October about the circulation of injector pens falsely labeled as containing Ozempic, a treatment for diabetes misused for weight loss purposes.
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