Teenagers could face Vinted and eBay ban in the UK
“We are looking seriously at doing so in order to keep children safe.”
U-16s could lose access to Vinted and eBay in the UK. By Cybernews.
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- The UK government is considering adding Vinted and eBay to its under-16 social media ban.
- Ministers cite messaging features that may let strangers contact and groom children on retail platforms.
- Ofcom research says 19% of children aged 8 to 14 use eBay monthly, and 15% use Vinted.
- Platforms may avoid restrictions if they make services sufficiently safe for children, Lisa Nandy said.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
The United Kingdom’s social media ban for under-16s is only coming into force, but it looks like the law might be expanded to include Vinted and eBay, the popular second-hand online marketplaces.
According to UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, the government is “looking seriously” at including the retailing websites in the social media ban “to keep children safe.”
So far, the ban has been set to only affect the under-16s’ access to platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, and Snapchat. But there have already been reports that the ban might be expanded.
“We are looking seriously at doing so in order to keep children safe,” said Nandy when asked about the possible expansion of the ban on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg program.
At first glance, the potential expansion seems illogical: what does Vinted or eBay have to do with social media?
However, the Sunday Times reports that the government is aware of messaging functions on both platforms allowing strangers to groom children. The newspaper suggests that similar platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Depop could also be included in the list of banned sites.
Children targeted on Facebook and Vinted
Around 19% of children aged eight to 14 use eBay each month, and 15% use Vinted, research for Ofcom, the communications watchdog, shows.
The Children’s Society, a charity, warned already in 2023 that children in need of money were targeted on such sites as Facebook Marketplace or Vinted.
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“Children will be asked for indecent photos in exchange for money or will receive packages with drugs included to lure them into using certain accounts,” the charity’s report said.
In response, eBay told the BBC it was looking forward to “understanding more and continuing to work constructively with the government.” Vinted also says it welcomes “open dialogue.”
Vinted is aimed at users over 18 but the platform’s terms and conditions allow parents or guardians to create accounts for their kids, which then have to be used under parental supervision.
Expansion of the ban might continue. According to the Sunday Times, online computer gaming sites that allow direct messaging are also expected to be hit with the restriction – but later.
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The Culture Secretary Nandy said in September that there may be ways tech firms could avoid restrictions around the social media ban for under-16s. They simply have to make their platforms “sufficiently safe for children.”
“There will be a way for companies, if they want to innovate and they want to change, to be able to get themselves essentially off that list,” said Nandy.
