Vinted and eBay could be added to the list of platforms that children under 16 will be barred from using, the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has said. The UK’s social media ban for under-16s is due to come into force in March 2027.
Asked on Sunday on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme whether the government was looking to ban under-16s from Vinted and eBay, Nandy said: “We are looking seriously at doing so in order to keep children safe.”
Her comments followed a Sunday Times report that the ban was being expanded to include the two second-hand marketplaces, due to fears that messaging functions on the platforms allow strangers to groom children. The newspaper suggested that Depop and Facebook Marketplace would also be included.
eBay states on its website that it already requires all members to be over 18, because listings involve “entering into a contract”.
Vinted is also aimed at over-18s, but its terms and conditions allow parents or guardians to create accounts for their children, which must be used under parental supervision. Users mostly buy and sell unwanted clothes and other fashion items on the site, which has reached 17 million UK users. Business Matters reported in April that Vinted’s annual revenue had passed €1bn.
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” and used 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,” the spokesperson said. Vinted added that it welcomed “open dialogue” with ministers and the regulator on the issue.
An eBay spokesperson said the company was “focused on providing a trusted and safe marketplace experience for our millions of customers”.
“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,” they added.
The government announced the ban in June, saying children would be prevented from accessing 10 of the biggest platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. YouTube will also be covered, although YouTube Kids, a version of the app designed for children, will not. In its announcement on 15 June, the government said it intended the ban not to include e-commerce platforms, educational services or music streaming.
A complete list of affected platforms has not been published. The government has said the ban will cover services “whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material”. Platforms with livestreaming, or with features that allow strangers to contact children, will also be restricted, including gaming sites. Roblox, for example, will not be banned, but features such as its chat function will be restricted.
Matthew Sinclair, a senior director at the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents tech companies, argued that ministers should prevent “scope creep” in the rules. 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”, and urged the government to “ensure any new restrictions are proportionate and effective.”
The policy drew mixed reaction from industry when it was first announced.
The UK’s ban follows a similar measure introduced in Australia last year. Many children there have found ways around it, and the UK government has said it intends to take a tougher approach.
Last month, the communications regulator Ofcom set out its recommendations for the most effective ways to identify which of the UK’s millions of social media users are over 16.
Rani Govender, head of online child safety at the NSPCC, said the “real question” was how the government ensured age checks were effective. “But effective age checks are only part of the solution,” she added. “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.”
