Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says ministers are considering adding the resale sites to the UK’s planned social media ban for children. eBay and Vinted say they want to work with the government.
Vinted and eBay could be added to the platforms that under-16s will be barred from using, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said. Asked on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg whether the government planned the move, she replied: “We are looking seriously at doing so in order to keep children safe.” The Sunday Times had reported that the social media ban was being widened to cover the popular second-hand marketplaces. The ban is due to take effect from March next year.
Why the sites are under consideration
According to the Sunday Times, the concern is that messaging functions on the platforms could allow strangers to groom children. The newspaper suggested that the resale platforms Depop and Facebook Marketplace would also be included.
eBay says it requires all members to be over 18, because listings involve “entering into a contract”. Vinted is aimed at adults, but its terms allow parents or guardians to open accounts for their children, which must be used under supervision. The site, used mainly to buy and sell unwanted clothes and fashion items, has grown rapidly to reach 17 million UK users.
The companies respond
An eBay spokesperson said the company was “focused on providing a trusted and safe marketplace experience for our millions of customers”. They added: “While the details of the proposed legislation are not yet clear, we look forward to understanding more and continuing to work constructively with the government.”
A Vinted spokesperson said direct messaging was “part of how the platform works”, but that the company had a “zero tolerance for harmful or explicit content”. They said it had moderation teams and tools to spot and remove “activity that breaks our rules”. “When we identify inappropriate behaviour, we take action, up to a permanent ban or reporting to the relevant authorities,” they said. Vinted also said it welcomed “open dialogue” with ministers and the regulator.
What the ban covers
The government announced in June that under-16s would be prevented from accessing 10 of the biggest platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. YouTube will also be covered, though YouTube Kids will not. A full list has not been published, but the government said the rules would apply to services “whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material”. Platforms with livestreaming, or with features that let strangers contact children, will also be restricted. That includes gaming sites. Roblox, the UK’s biggest gaming site for eight- to 12-year-olds, will not be banned, but features such as its chat function will be restricted.
The government’s earlier position appears to differ from Ms Nandy’s comments. In a statement to Parliament on 15 June, then technology secretary Liz Kendall said ministers intended to exempt e-commerce platforms, with the exemption narrowly defined and kept under review. On 17 September, the government told Parliament that the final criteria would be set in regulations, and that the ban primarily targeted services designed for social interaction, user-generated material and algorithmic recommendations. It is not clear whether ministers want to bar children from the marketplaces entirely or restrict the features that let adults contact them.
Industry and child-safety views
Matthew Sinclair, a senior director at the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents tech firms, urged ministers to avoid “scope creep”. He said a restriction on messaging for under-16s “would not stop at social media and would reach into the services families depend on to stay in touch”. He urged the government to “ensure any new restrictions are proportionate and effective”.
Rani Govender, head of online child safety at the NSPCC, said the “real question” was how the government ensures age checks work. “But effective age checks are only part of the solution,” she said. “Tech companies must also be required to build child safety into every platform, device and AI tool, so children are protected from harmful and illegal content and only able to access age-appropriate services.”
The National Crime Agency and National Police Chiefs’ Council have published a joint position favouring restrictions on risky features over blanket bans on named services. They identify six areas of risk: children being discoverable by strangers, unrestricted messages from adults, private or encrypted conversations, harmful recommendations, sexual-image sharing and ineffective age checks. They say platforms should remove dangerous features or make them safe for under-16s, and support barring children from a platform if the company cannot address the risks adequately.
How many children use the sites
Ofcom’s Children’s Passive Online Measurement research, published this year, measures website and app visits, not registered accounts or purchases. It found that Amazon reaches 48% of online children aged 8 to 14 each month, compared with 19% for eBay and 15% for Vinted. Among children who used the services, Vinted users averaged about 50 visits a month, against 21 for eBay.
Enforcement and timing
In recent weeks, attention has turned to how the ban would be enforced. Last month, Ofcom set out its recommendations on identifying which users are over 16. On 29 October, it said all the app stores it examined relied on children declaring their own ages, with only a few using extra verification in limited circumstances. It identified four potentially effective checking methods for the 16-year threshold: photo identification, digital identity, banking-based checks and facial age estimation. It warned that every method could be circumvented. Government guidance says some adults may not need new checks, as existing evidence such as a long-standing account or verified payment method could be enough.
The government intends to lay its first regulations before Parliament by the end of 2026, and both Houses must approve them. Ofcom can already fine regulated services up to £18m or 10% of qualifying worldwide annual revenue, whichever is greater, under the Online Safety Act. The detailed enforcement arrangements for the new rules depend on the regulations.
The UK’s ban follows a similar one introduced in Australia last year. Many children there have found ways round it, but the UK says it intends to take a tougher approach.
