French Government Calls Emergency Meetings With Platforms Over Protests– www.wired.com
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A separate meeting, confirmed by Serge Papin, minister for small and medium-size enterprises on X, was held on Monday with major online reselling platforms where “an agreement was signed” to crack down on the resale of looted goods. French newspaper Le Monde reported that Vinted, eBay, Amazon, LeBonCoin, Meta, and TikTok were at the meeting. Platforms agreed to forward reports to investigators, monitor ads for goods stolen specifically during the protests, and send the government reports of their actions, with the first one coming within 48 hours, according to Papin.
Peaceful demonstrations against high living costs and strained public services, including schools, erupted into rioting and the looting of more than 1,500 shops and businesses over the weekend. Police “lost control” in some cities, Interior minister Laurent Nuñez admitted, as they responded with tear gas, water cannon, and batons. They have since arrested more than 2,400 people, according to authorities.
French penal law can hand down a five-year sentence and a €375,000 fine to anyone who is concealing, possessing, or transferring an item that they know was obtained through a crime or offense. Police issued a warning in the Netherlands that online ecommerce sites could have a higher number of stolen goods online due to the riots.
The French Alliance of Marketplaces, a nonprofit representing French online retailers such as Back Market, eBay, Etsy, LeBonCoin, ManoMano, and Vinted, said in a press release that its members are relying on user reports, human oversight, and tech tools to monitor ads that resell stolen goods from the riots. When identified, a fake ad is removed and “measures are taken against the accounts involved,” which could include permanent suspension of the seller’s account, according to a statement from eBay. The time it takes for eBay to take action “depends on the nature of the report and the necessary verification process,” the company said. Vinted, Amazon, LeBonCoin, Meta, and TikTok did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
