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EU Accepts AliExpress Commitments to Combat Illegal Online Products

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The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it has accepted binding commitments from Alibaba’s AliExpress to tackle the spread of illegal and pornographic materials on its platform. This follows a March investigation into AliExpress’s alleged failure to adequately address these concerns, which could have resulted in significant fines.

Despite the acceptance of these commitments, AliExpress may still face penalties. The Commission noted that the company underestimated the risks of disseminating illegal goods and failed to enforce sanctions against traders posting illicit content. AliExpress has the opportunity to respond to these preliminary findings.

AliExpress stated it has cooperated proactively with the Commission and remains confident that ongoing dialogue will lead to a compliant resolution.

The commitments include improvements to monitoring systems for illegal products, such as unapproved medicines, food supplements, and adult content. They also enhance transparency around advertising and recommendation algorithms, and facilitate trader traceability on the platform.

Meta and TikTok Challenge EU Tech Supervisory Fees at General Court

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Meta Platforms and TikTok have taken their dispute over the European Union’s supervisory fees to the EU General Court, the bloc’s second highest judicial authority. Both companies argue that the fees imposed under the 2022 Digital Services Act (DSA) are disproportionate and based on flawed calculations.

The DSA requires large online platforms, including Meta, TikTok, and 16 other firms, to pay an annual supervisory fee of 0.05% of their global net income. This fee is intended to cover the European Commission’s costs for monitoring compliance with the law. The fee’s size depends on each company’s average monthly active users and their profit or loss status in the previous year.

Meta questioned the methodology used by the Commission, saying it unfairly applied group-level revenue rather than that of the subsidiary. Meta’s lawyer, Assimakis Komninos, criticized the fee’s calculation as opaque and inconsistent with the DSA’s principles, describing it as a “black box” that led to “implausible and absurd results.”

TikTok, owned by ByteDance, echoed these concerns. TikTok’s lawyer Bill Batchelor accused the Commission of inflating fees through double-counting users who access the platform on multiple devices and argued that the fee exceeded legal limits by referencing group profits rather than individual entities.

The European Commission defended its approach. Commission lawyer Lorna Armati said using consolidated group profits was justified, as the group’s total financial resources are available to pay the fee. She also rejected claims of insufficient transparency or unfair treatment.

The court is expected to deliver its ruling on these cases, Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission and TikTok Technology v Commission, next year.

X Adds Blue Checkmark Disclaimer to Address EU Antitrust Probe

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Elon Musk’s social media platform X has added a more prominent disclaimer to its blue checkmark feature, aiming to deflect a potential fine from European Union antitrust regulators, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The European Commission charged X in July 2023 with misleading users about the meaning of the blue checkmark. Traditionally, the badge indicated that an account belonged to a verified public figure. However, following Musk’s acquisition of the platform in 2022, the checkmark began to signify only that an account holder was a paid subscriber, not necessarily a verified identity.

Although X has not admitted any wrongdoing, it recently began displaying a more noticeable disclaimer clarifying the meaning of the blue checkmark. According to the source, this move is not part of any formal settlement proposal with the EU’s tech enforcement body but is seen as a voluntary step to demonstrate compliance. The new disclaimer has been in place for about a week.

The European Commission acknowledged X’s decision, with a spokesperson stating: “Our investigation related to the blue checkmark is ongoing.” X declined to comment when contacted.

The probe is being conducted under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates that large online platforms take stronger action against illegal or harmful content or face penalties of up to 6% of their global annual revenue. The DSA also requires transparency in how online platforms present information to users.

Bloomberg first reported on X’s decision to highlight the disclaimer.