Vinted and eBay Face UK Under-16 Ban as Social Media Rules Expand

By Amara Osei

Vinted and eBay could be barred to UK under-16s under the government's social media ban, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has confirmed. The restriction takes effect in March next year, and the two resale platforms may join Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat on the blocked list.

Speaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Nandy left no room for ambiguity. "We are looking seriously at doing so in order to keep children safe," she said, responding directly to a question about whether the retail websites would fall under the ban.

Why is the government targeting resale sites?

The Sunday Times first reported that the UK's under-16 social media ban was being expanded to cover the platforms, which are popular for selling second-hand goods. The newspaper pointed to fears that messaging functions on the sites allow strangers to groom children.

The report suggested two similar platforms — Depop and Facebook Marketplace — would also join the list of banned sites. If that holds, the ban would reach well beyond traditional social media into the heart of the UK's second-hand retail economy.

Vinted alone has grown to 17 million UK users in recent years, driven mostly by people buying and selling unwanted clothes and fashion items. eBay, a major global player in online reselling for years, hosts goods sold by both businesses and individuals.

The BBC has contacted both companies for comment.

What do the platforms' own rules say?

Both platforms already claim to exclude minors on paper. eBay states on its website that it requires all members to be over 18, because listings involve "entering into a contract." Vinted also says its users must be at least 18 years old.

The government's move suggests it doesn't trust age declarations alone to keep children off the sites. Enforcement, not policy, is the fault line.

How broad is the under-16 ban?

The government announced the ban in June this year, blocking under-16s from 10 of the biggest social media platforms. YouTube is included, but YouTube Kids — the child-safe version of the video app — is not.

A complete list of affected platforms has not yet been released. The government said the ban covers platforms "whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material."

That definition also captures platforms with livestreaming or features that let strangers contact children, including gaming sites. But it doesn't mean a blanket block on gaming.

Roblox, the biggest gaming site in the UK for eight to 12-year-olds, won't be banned outright for under-16s. Certain features, such as its chat function, will be restricted instead.

Can the ban actually work?

The UK is following Australia, which introduced a similar ban last year. Many Australian children have found ways around it. The UK has said it intends to take a tougher approach.

Enforcement has become the central question in recent weeks. Last month, 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 aged over 16.

For Vinted, eBay, Depop and Facebook Marketplace, the stakes are commercial as well as regulatory. Each would need age-verification systems robust enough to satisfy Ofcom — or risk losing whatever under-18 traffic slips through their current self-declared 18+ policies when the ban lands in March.