AliExpress probed under DSA, LinkedIn gets request for information

The commission already started two formal investigations under the EU’s platform rules.

The European Commission has begun an investigation into Chinese online marketplace AliExpress, owned by the Alibaba Group, on suspicion of breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU executive said in a statement today (14 March). 
The probe focuses on mitigation of risks, to content moderation and the internal complaint handling mechanism, as well as transparency of advertising and recommender systems, the traceability of traders and to data access for researchers, the commission’s statement said.
The company might not have taken enough measures to prevent dissemination of illegal content, and to prohibit products that pose a risk for consumers’ health such as fake medicines and food as well as dietary supplements. 
There is no timetable for when the investigation will be finalised yet.
In addition, the commission sent out a series of requests for information to 6 platforms and 2 search engines under the DSA on AI; to probe businesses’ internal policies and readiness for Generative AI.
Bing, Google Search, as well as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and X will have to to give more details on their mitigation measures for risks linked to so-called ‘hallucinations’ where AI provides false information, the viral dissemination of deepfakes, as well as the automated manipulation of services that can mislead voters.
The EU executive also decided to ask LinkedIn for more information after civil society organisations filed a complaint against the company about suspected infringement by allowing profiling in advertising. LinkedIn must provide the requested information by 5 April.
In December, the commission opened an investigation into X linked to risk management, content moderation, dark patterns, advertising transparency and data access for researchers. 
This was followed by formal proceedings opened last month against TikTok to check whether the company has breached the DSA in relation to protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers, as well as the risk management of addictive design and harmful content.
Under the DSA, companies with more than 45 million users are considered Very Large Online Platforms (VLOP) meaning that they face stricter rules to fight illegal and harmful content and counterfeit products on their platforms.
The commission designated a first group of 19 platforms, including Booking.com, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon and Zalando in April last year, and a second batch of pornography websites in December.