Vinted denies having reliable evidence linking listings to child trafficking
French police have opened an investigation into listings published on the Lithuanian platform Vinted, potentially linked to child trafficking. The company and an independent fact-checker say they do not have reliable evidence.
Vinted denies having reliable evidence linking listings to child trafficking
French police have opened an investigation regarding listings published on the e-commerce platform Vinted, suspected of being linked to child trafficking, according to Western media reports. Vinted, a Lithuanian company and the country's first "unicorn", says it does not have reliable evidence on this matter.
The company told BNS that an independent Austrian fact-checker, "Mimikama", had reached the same conclusion. According to this organisation, there is no substantiated evidence establishing a link between the listings and child trafficking.
"The claim that children are being sold on the Vinted platform is not supported by the screenshots circulating on the Internet. This could mean trolling, dubious advertisements, incorrectly chosen categories, provocations or misuse of the platform. However, this is not proof of child trafficking," the Mimikama website states.
According to Vinted, some of these listings are deliberately created to raise suspicions of child trafficking. The company says it removes them immediately and takes action against associated accounts, including blocking them. It says it is cooperating with the competent institutions conducting their own investigation.
"We take this matter very seriously and encourage anyone who notices a suspicious listing to inform us so we can examine it and take action. We do not tolerate any illegal activity on our platform," Vinted added.
The portal "15min", citing the website "Mundoamerica", reported on Friday that dozens of screenshots and videos are circulating on social media, showing Vinted listings and suspecting that they could be used to conceal child trafficking.
Based on the French portal "Europe1", "15min" also stated that French police had opened an investigation into these listings. The authorities immediately reported these postings to PHAROS, the national centre for reporting illegal online content, which is examining the origin and purpose of these listings.
Source: LRT