Second hand sales app Vinted is being investigated over claims some sellers have been flogging more than just their old dungarees.
It’s alleged that some users were using listings for swimwear or lingerie to direct viewers away from the app, and towards their Only Fans pages and other adult content.
Their profiles also allegedly included contact details encouraging users to reach them on WhatsApp or Telegram.
As Vinted has no age limitations in place, it is feared that children could have been exposed to pornography.
France’s child protection agency chief Sarah El Hairy has asked the regulator to investigate the company for allegedly failing to protect minors.
She asked French TV and internet regulator Arcom to probe Vinted after finding some classified ads which allegedly redirected to porn websites, she said in an interview on French TV channel France 3 on Sunday.
‘Where there are children or teenagers, there are predators, and what they did this time is to use sales of ordinary objects to direct (users) towards pornographic sites,’ she said.
The problematic links can be hard to identify, as they may not link to porn immediately, but go via an intermediary like Linktree which compiles a list of websites.
‘Zero tolerance’
Vinted, based in Lithuania, said it has a zero-tolerance policy on unsolicited sexual communication, promotion of sexual services or nude images on its platform.
A spokesperson said in a statement: ‘We do not allow members to use listings to promote adult websites, and we take action against listings or profiles like this as soon as we become aware of them.’
It comes amid a wider crackdown on large e-commerce sites in France, intended to protect local retailers.
Many feel threatened by what they see as unfair competition from Chinese platforms like AliExpress, Temu and Shein, and US giants like Amazon and eBay.
A consumer watchdog opened investigations against five such platforms for violating rules on selling illicit products online a few days after Shein opened its first physical store in Paris.
Shein was the centre of a controversy earlier this month over the sale of childlike sex dolls, which have now been banned on its platform.
French media published a photo of one of the dolls, which was only around 30 inches tall and holding a teddy bear.
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