Vinted faces French probe over alleged porn content

Vinted faces an investigation in France over allegations that some accounts on the second-hand clothes platform are being used to promote pornographic content, the government’s child protection commissioner said.

French news website L’Informé and other media reported last week how some users are posting advertisements for lingerie or swimwear to attract users to their profiles on adult-content sites such as OnlyFans.

Their profiles also contain contact details encouraging viewers to message them on WhatsApp or Telegram.

Even though the practices are against Vinted’s rules, French High Commissioner for Childhood, Sarah El Hairy, said Sunday she had filed a complaint with the country’s online and media regulator Arcom.

“Where there are children and adolescents, there are predators,” El Hairy told the France 3 channel. “They’re using the sale of pretty classic objects to send people towards pornographic content.”

Online platforms that make adult content available in France are obliged to have age verification systems under a law passed in 2024. The legislation has led to a major battle with leading pornography websites, some of which have suspended their services in France as a result.

Contacted by AFP, Vinted said that it has “a zero-tolerance policy regarding unsolicited communications of a sexual nature or the promotion of sexual services”.

It said it had “more than 23 million registered members” in France and had “proactive detection tools to identify suspicious behaviours, such as inappropriate remarks, and we encourage anyone who notices concerning content to report it”.

The company, founded in 2008 and based in Lithuania, has become a leading platform for selling second-hand clothes.