EU DSA Counterfeit Liability
EU DSA counterfeit liability is the legal obligation, under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), for online marketplaces to actively assess and reduce the risk of illegal, unsafe or counterfeit products being sold on their platform, rather than simply removing listings after a complaint. Marketplaces that fail to do this diligently can face fines running into hundreds of millions of euros, not just a takedown order on a single listing.
Why it matters
The DSA shifted the burden away from “notice and takedown alone” and onto ongoing risk assessment. In July 2026, the European Commission fined AliExpress a record €550 million for failing to properly evaluate whether it had enough moderators to review potentially illegal products, and for underestimating how its own recommender and advertising systems were spreading illegal listings before they were removed. It followed a €200 million fine against Temu earlier the same year for similar breaches, the two largest DSA penalties issued to date. For a brand, this changes the leverage available: a marketplace now has its own regulatory reason to act quickly and thoroughly on a well-documented counterfeit report, not just a goodwill reason.
How it works
- Risk assessment duty — very large online platforms must assess systemic risks from illegal content, including counterfeit goods, and show the assessment was adequate, not just claim one was done.
- Notice-and-action mechanisms — platforms must provide an accessible way to report illegal products and act on well-substantiated notices without undue delay.
- Transparency and audit obligations — platforms must report on enforcement actions and submit to independent audits of their compliance.
- Enforcement action plans — a platform found in breach must submit a remedial action plan to the Commission on a set deadline, as AliExpress was required to do by 20 October 2026.
In practice
The AliExpress case shows what “inadequate assessment” looks like in practice: a detection system whose real-world effectiveness the Commission found had been overestimated, moderator staffing the platform underestimated the need for, and ad/recommendation systems that kept surfacing illegal products before they were pulled down. Brands selling into the EU now have a clearer regulatory backdrop for pushing marketplaces to act faster on counterfeit reports, since slow or shallow moderation carries the platform’s own legal exposure, not just the brand’s.
How Truviss helps
Truviss’s Marketplace Scanner builds the evidence trail a DSA-era takedown report needs: SKU-level matches, screenshots, seller details and timestamps, stored and exportable for both the marketplace’s own review process and any later compliance or legal follow-up.
Related terms
The DSA applies to any platform offering services to users in the EU, regardless of where the company is headquartered, which is why China-based marketplaces like AliExpress and Temu fall under it.
No. The DSA creates pressure on platforms to act, but a brand still has to find the infringing listing and file a well-substantiated report before that obligation is triggered.
The Commission can fine a platform up to 6% of its global annual turnover for a DSA breach. The AliExpress fine of €550 million and Temu’s €200 million fine are the two largest issued so far.