France probes Vinted over alleged exposure of children to pornographic content

French authorities are investigating the second-hand clothing platform Vinted for allegedly failing to prevent children from being exposed to pornographic content.

France's Children's Rights Commissioner Sarah El-Haïry has asked TV and internet regulator Arcom to probe allegations that some Vinted accounts were directing users, including underage ones, to adult material.

Local media reported that some sellers are posting lingerie or swimwear ads to attract users to their profiles on adult content platforms like OnlyFans.

"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," El-Haïry told TV channel France 3.

In a statement, Vinted 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," the Lithuania-based company said.

In 2024, a French law gave Arcom the power to impose legal sanctions and block adult websites that still allow people under 18 to view their content. The regulator can also ask internet or domain providers to block access to these websites for at least two years.

The age verification law made headlines this summer when Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub and Redtube, announced that it would block French users' access to these platforms because of the law. It was later restored.

Earlier this month, French authorities launched an investigation into Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein after finding illegal weapons and child-like sex dolls for sale on its website.

In response, Shein said it had removed all illicit products from its website and banned the sale of sex dolls.

France has been cracking down on several major e-commerce platforms in recent weeks, accusing them of allowing illegal products to be sold and pornographic content to be accessed by children via their marketplaces.