Vinted and eBay could face UK under-16 ban, minister says

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says the government is weighing whether to add Vinted and eBay to Britain's upcoming under-16 social media ban. Asked directly about the resale platforms on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, she replied: 'We are looking seriously at doing so in order to keep children safe.' The BBC has approached both companies for comment.

The move surfaced after the Sunday Times reported the ban was being widened to take in the second-hand shopping sites. According to the newspaper, the concern is that private messaging tools on those platforms let strangers approach children. It also named Depop and Facebook Marketplace as possible additions to the list.

Britain's under-16 ban is due to land in March next year, blocking kids from Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat among others. A full list of affected platforms still hasn't been published. The government's stated test is whether a service is built for social interaction and lets users post material — which pulls in livestreaming and chat features, gaming sites included.

Both retail names already say they are adults-only on paper. eBay tells users they must be over 18 because listings mean 'entering into a contract', while Vinted sets the same age bar. That hasn't stopped Vinted from ballooning to 17 million UK users, mostly buying and selling second-hand clothes and fashion.

Gaming doesn't escape entirely. Roblox, the biggest gaming site in the UK for eight to 12-year-olds, won't be off-limits to under-16s, but features like its chat function will be restricted, along with other stranger-contact channels.

The UK is following Australia, which introduced a comparable ban last year — though plenty of children there found ways around it, and Britain says it plans to be tougher. Enforcement is now the live question: last month regulator Ofcom laid out recommendations for working out which of the UK's millions of social media users are actually over 16.