On Tuesday, Lithuania’s data protection authority fined second-hand specialist Vinte more than 2.3 million euros after complaints, particularly in France. CNIL, the police of French privacy.
In a press release, the National Commission for Information Technologies and Freedoms (Cnil) indicated that the fine of 2,385,276 euros came in particular after numerous complaints. In France (its main market by number of customers) As of 2020, against the Lithuanian-based company “primarily related to the difficulties people face in exercising their right to data erasure. »
The French complaints were forwarded to the Lithuanian data protection authority, which has the authority and permission to investigate the file. Vintage.
“We fundamentally reject this decision,” Vinted told AFP, saying it had “no legal basis” and set “a new precedent that deviates from both existing legislation and the practice of the sector”. The company also said that it will appeal against this decision.
“We would like to assure our members that the cases mentioned by the Lithuanian Data Protection Authority (VDAI) are in no way related to the security of their accounts and are not related to any misuse or breach of their personal data. Privacy protection and compliance with the GDPR (general data protection regulation) is taken very seriously by Vinted. Indeed, we have invested heavily in working with VDAI throughout this process to comply with applicable regulations and ensure the protection of our members’ data,” the platform responded.
“Privacy Ban”
Among the identified shortcomings Cnil indicates that the platform does not process “fair and transparent” requests to delete users’ personal data.
According to the authority, it has also implemented a “hidden ban” system, which consists of making the activity of a user deemed treacherous (disrespecting the platform’s rules) invisible to other users. with the aim of encouraging him to leave the platform.
CNIL considers that a method that leads to “extreme violation of users’ rights”. Finally, Vinted failed to prove that it properly responded to requests for access to customers’ personal information. The procedure was carried out in cooperation with Polish, Dutch and German authorities, the CNIL noted
It was founded in Vilnius in 2008 by Lithuanians Justas Janauskas and Milda Mitkute. la plateforme Vinted accessible via mobile app or web browser and has over 100 million members worldwide.
Earning revenue for the first time in its history in 2023, it employs more than 2,000 people, most of whom are based in Lithuania.