EU Investigates AliExpress for Illegal Content and Pornography
The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into Alibaba's e-commerce platform, AliExpress, over allegations of illegal and pornographic material being distributed through its service. This inquiry marks the third of its kind under the recently effective Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates more rigorous efforts by companies to eliminate illegal and harmful content on their platforms.
The scope of the investigation includes reviewing AliExpress's content moderation policies, internal complaint handling, transparency in advertising, and systems for recommending products. The Commission is also examining whether the platform has adequately enforced its terms of service that ban products posing health risks to consumers, such as counterfeit medications.
In addition to Alibaba, the Commission has sought information from several other tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, Meta Platforms (Facebook and Instagram), Snapchat, ByteDance's TikTok, and others regarding their use of generative artificial intelligence. The inquiry into these companies will assess their risk assessments and mitigation strategies to address potential harms associated with generative AI content.
