In brief
France's Children's Rights Commissioner has initiated an investigation into Vinted, a popular second-hand clothing app, due to allegations that some user accounts are promoting pornographic content. Vinted lacks age verification procedures, exposing minors to inappropriate material. The company has asserted its commitment to combating illicit content on its platform. This scrutiny extends to other e-commerce platforms under investigation for exposing minors to harmful content.
Second-hand clothing platform Vinted is under investigation in France after some user accounts were found to be directing visitors to pornographic content.
France's Children's Rights Commissioner Sarah El-Haïry said she had asked watchdog Arcom to examine the allegations first reported in French media.
Vinted, which has 23 million users in France, has no age-verification procedure - meaning children and teenagers could have been exposed to pornographic material without having to show proof they were over 18.
In a statement, the Lithuania-based company said it had a zero-tolerance policy regarding unsolicited communications of a sexual nature or the promotion of sexual services.
All inappropriate and illegal content is removed, and where necessary we take measures against users, including blocking them definitively from our site, it was cited as saying by the AFP news agency.
Vinted is taking the situation very seriously, it added.
Reports first surfaced after some sellers showing photographs of swimwear or lingerie were found to be luring viewers to their personal pages on adult platforms such as OnlyFans.
Predators have been using the sale of ordinary items of clothing to direct people to porn sites, El-Haïry said.
France has recently issued warnings to other global e-commerce platforms, including Shein - headquartered in Singapore - after products including childlike sex dolls appeared in their marketing listings.
French officials say the case against Shein forms part of a wider investigation into other major e-commerce platforms accused of allowing illicit products to be sold online.
Paris prosecutors are examining whether Shein, AliExpress, Temu, and Wish breached laws relating to violent, pornographic or undignified content accessible to minors.
Shein and AliExpress are also being investigated specifically over the alleged dissemination of child-related pornographic material. The cases have been referred to the Paris Office des Mineurs, which handles offences involving the protection of children.
Shein has already banned the sale of all sex dolls on its platform worldwide and says it is permanently blocking seller accounts linked to the items.
The French consumer watchdog, the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, said descriptions of the dolls left little doubt as to their child-pornography nature.
