Vinted fined €2.4 million

It’s not a good time for the internet, for Meta, for X, or even for Vinted. After recording sensational successes across Europe throughout 2024, with sales increases of 61% totaling almost €600 million, the platform now finds itself forced to pay a fine of 2.4 million euros to the Lithuanian authority, the company's country of origin. Vinted has been accused of violating laws that protect users' personal data, an issue that came to light following an investigation initiated after numerous complaints. According to the country’s authority, the app was engaging in questionable and potentially illegal data management practices, such as not deleting the data of users who had deleted their profiles.

The hefty fine Vinted has to deal with is related to the violation of the right to data deletion as stipulated by the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Some users of the online resale platform have complained about various difficulties related to the deletion of their profile from the app, as well as the lack of reasons provided by Vinted for not complying with their requests. Additionally, the authority accused the company of implementing a shadow ban system, meaning limiting the visibility of certain content without user consent. Posts from accounts that, according to the app, did not comply with community rules were hidden, a practice that had already backfired on Vinted, leading many users to abandon it. While the company disapproved of the accusations, claiming they were legally unfounded and announcing that it would appeal, the Lithuanian authority revealed that the 2.4 million euro fine imposed on Vinted is the highest ever imposed since the introduction of the GDPR. Two years ago, Vinted faced a similar problem in Italy, when in 2022 the Antitrust fined the company 1.5 million euros for sharing "misleading information."

Besides the internet, 2024 seems to be a sensitive period for fashion as well. While Meta has to deal with the anger of its users who discovered that Instagram and Facebook are using their data to train AI and X is being accused of disseminating illegal or misleading content, in the real world fashion is being stolen, literally. Last month, a gang of robbers first hit the Bulgari boutique in Via Condotti, Rome, stealing jewelry worth 500 thousand euros, then the Chanel store in Paris with a haul estimated between six and ten million euros. No one is safe, not even vintage and second-hand clothing enthusiasts who don’t care if Vinted uses their personal data for its own interests: on resale apps there is more and more fast fashion. As if to say, when you can’t take anything more from them, steal their fun.