The UK government is considering banning under-16s from Vinted and eBay, as part of its plan to keep children off social media. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said on Sunday that ministers were seriously considering adding the two online marketplaces to the ban.
“We are looking seriously at doing so in order to keep children safe,” Nandy told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.
Her comments came after The Sunday Times reported that the ban was being widened to cover second-hand selling sites. According to the paper, the concern is that their messaging features let strangers contact and groom children. Depop and Facebook Marketplace could also be included, it reported.
The ban is due to start in March next year. It will stop under-16s from using the biggest platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, as well as YouTube, though not YouTube Kids. A full list has not yet been published.
Officially, eBay already requires its members to be over 18, because buying and selling involves entering into a contract. Vinted is also aimed at adults, but its rules let parents create accounts for their children, to be used under supervision.
Still, many younger children use both sites. Around 19% of eight to 14-year-olds use eBay every month and 15% use Vinted, according to Ofcom research cited by Cybernews.
Both companies responded cautiously. eBay said the details of the plan were not yet clear, but it looked forward to working with the government. Vinted, which has 17 million UK users, said it welcomed open talks with ministers and the regulator.
A Vinted spokesperson also said that messaging is part of how the platform works, but that it does not tolerate harmful content. Users who break the rules can be banned for good or reported to the authorities, they added.
The tech industry, however, has warned against widening the ban too far. Matthew Sinclair of the Computer and Communications Industry Association said limits on messaging could reach into services families use to stay in touch.
Meanwhile, attention is turning to how the ban will be enforced. Ofcom set out its advice on age checks last month, and the NSPCC said the real test was whether those checks would work.
The UK is following Australia, which banned under-16s from social media last year. Many Australian children have found ways around it, but the UK says it will take a tougher approach.
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