UK Considers Banning Under-16s From Vinted and eBay in Grooming Crackdown

The UK government is considering banning under-16s from Vinted and eBay, in a major widening of its planned ban on children using social media. The move would bring two of Britain’s best-known second-hand marketplaces inside a set of rules that were originally aimed at apps such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed the idea on Sunday 8 November, telling the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that ministers were “looking seriously” at adding the two popular resale sites to the list of banned platforms “in order to keep children safe”.

The suggestion first appeared in a report in The Sunday Times, which said the ban was being expanded because of fears that the messaging features on resale platforms allow strangers to contact and groom children. The newspaper also suggested that two similar platforms, Depop and Facebook Marketplace, could be included as well.

Nothing has been decided yet. No final list of banned platforms has been published, and the details of how the rules would work are still unclear. But Nandy’s comments are the clearest sign so far that the government wants the ban to reach well beyond social media — and into the online shops and marketplaces that millions of British teenagers use every month.

What the government is considering

The UK announced in June 2026 that it would ban under-16s from using social media. The ban is due to come into force in March 2027, and it will stop children from holding accounts on 10 of the biggest platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. A version of YouTube designed for children, YouTube Kids, will not be included.

The government has said the ban will cover platforms “whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material”. That wording matters, because it is wide enough to catch far more than social media apps. It also covers platforms with livestreaming or features that let strangers contact children — including gaming sites. Roblox, the biggest gaming site in the UK for children aged eight to 12, will not itself be banned, but its chat features will be restricted.

Vinted and eBay fit that description because both let buyers and sellers send each other direct messages. On Vinted, a buyer messages a seller to ask about an item, agree a price or arrange postage. On eBay, buyers and sellers can also message each other. That everyday feature is exactly what worries ministers: a stranger can use it to start a private conversation with a child.

The government has not said when the final list of platforms will be published, but ministers are expected to set out how the ban will work in practice before the end of the year. The legislation behind the ban is expected to go through Parliament by the end of 2026.

Why marketplaces? The grooming concern

The driving fear is grooming — the process by which an adult builds a relationship with a child online in order to abuse them. According to The Sunday Times, the decision to look at marketplaces followed evidence that their messaging features were being used to target children.

The Children’s Society, a UK charity that works to protect children, has said that some users on resale sites and apps have asked child users for inappropriate photos in exchange for money. A government source told the newspaper there was an “increasing body of evidence” that under-16s were being targeted on these platforms and put at risk.

The numbers help explain why ministers are paying attention. Research carried out for the regulator Ofcom suggested that as many as 19% of children aged between eight and 14 use eBay at least once a month, and 15% use Vinted monthly. Vinted, where people mostly buy and sell unwanted clothes and fashion items, has grown fast in recent years and now has 17 million users in the UK.

What Vinted and eBay say

Both companies already set a minimum age of 18, at least on paper. eBay states on its website that all of its members must be over 18, because using the site involves “entering into a contract”. Vinted says its service is aimed at people over 18, but its terms and conditions do allow a parent or guardian to create an account for a child, as long as the account is used under parental supervision.

The companies’ responses to the government’s plan were cautious rather than hostile. An eBay spokesperson said the company was “focused on providing a trusted and safe marketplace experience for our millions of customers”, adding: “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.”

Vinted said it welcomed “open dialogue” with ministers and the regulator. A Vinted spokesperson said direct messaging was “part of how the platform works”, but stressed that the company had “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.

Neither company has said it opposes the idea in principle. That may be because both already claim to keep children out — so a legal ban would, in their telling, simply turn their own rules into law. The real argument is likely to be about how the ban is enforced, and who pays for the age checks that would make it work.

The enforcement problem

The hardest question about the under-16 ban has always been enforcement. How do you actually stop a 14-year-old from opening an account? Age checks based on a date of birth typed into a form are easy to get around, and children are often better than adults at finding workarounds.

The UK is not the first country to try. Australia introduced a similar under-16 social media ban last year, in December 2025, and many children there have found ways to get round it. The UK government has said it intends to take a tougher approach, but it has not yet explained in detail what that means.

Rani Govender, head of online child safety at the NSPCC, the children’s charity, said the “real question” going forward 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.”

Australia’s experience is being watched closely in London, and it is also being tested in court. Reddit has challenged Australia’s under-16 ban in the country’s High Court, and the judges have reserved their decision. The outcome of that case could shape how other countries, including the UK, design their own bans.

Other countries are moving in the same direction. Türkiye has banned social media accounts for children under 15, and in the United States, California has passed a law on addictive social media feeds for under-16s that Google, Meta and TikTok are now suing to block. The UK’s decision to look at marketplaces as well as social media would put it at the front of this global trend.

The other side: warnings about “scope creep”

Not everyone is convinced that widening the ban is the right answer. Matthew Sinclair, a senior director at the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents technology companies, argued that ministers should prevent the rules from suffering “scope creep” — the slow expansion of a policy well beyond what it was originally meant to cover.

He warned that 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 concern is a practical one. Messaging is not only a feature of social media and shopping apps. It is built into games, homework apps, sports clubs, family group chats and many of the everyday tools children use. If the government starts banning under-16s from every service that lets strangers send them a message, critics ask, where does it stop? And if the answer is “everywhere”, how do families keep in touch, and how do children learn to use the internet safely rather than simply being kept away from it?

There is also a question of fairness for young sellers. Many teenagers use Vinted and eBay to sell clothes they have outgrown or raise money. A ban would cut off that income, and some will argue that the answer is better safety tools — stronger age checks, limits on who can message a child, and clearer reporting buttons — rather than a blanket ban.

What it means for parents and teenagers

For parents, the immediate message is simple: the rules are changing, and the sites their children use may soon be off-limits by law rather than just by the companies’ own terms. If the ban goes ahead, an under-16 will not be allowed to hold an account on Vinted or eBay, and the platforms will have to check ages properly rather than relying on users to tell the truth about their date of birth.

For teenagers who buy and sell on these sites, the change could be frustrating. Many use Vinted to buy second-hand clothes cheaply, which is both affordable and better for the environment than buying new. Others sell old clothes to earn pocket money. If the ban comes in, they will need a parent or guardian to buy or sell on their behalf — or wait until they turn 16.

For the platforms, the change would mean real work and real cost: age-checking systems that actually work, decisions about existing accounts held by under-16s, and clarity on the grey area Vinted currently allows, where a parent opens an account for a child. Would that still be allowed under a legal ban? The government has not said.

What happens next

Several things will decide how this story develops.

First, the government must publish the full list of platforms covered by the ban. Until that list appears, Vinted, eBay, Depop and Facebook Marketplace are only “being looked at” — not definitely included. The list is expected before the ban comes into force in March 2027.

Second, ministers must explain how the ban will be enforced. The details — what counts as a proper age check, what happens to companies that break the rules, and what fines they face — are expected before the end of this year. A ban that cannot be enforced is just a press release.

Third, the technology industry will respond. Companies such as eBay and Vinted have so far been polite and cooperative in public. But behind the scenes, they and their trade bodies will be pushing for rules they can actually follow.

And fourth, the wider debate will continue. Australia’s ban is already being challenged in court, and the UK’s ban will face the same questions: does it actually keep children safer, or does it simply push them onto smaller, less regulated corners of the internet?

Why this matters

It is easy to see a row about Vinted and eBay as a small story about shopping apps. But it matters because it shows how far the UK government is willing to go to control what children can do online — and how quickly a policy aimed at one problem can grow into something much bigger.

The original ban, announced in June 2026, was about social media: Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube. Now, less than five months later, ministers are talking about banning children from online marketplaces too. The reason is serious and real: children are being targeted by strangers through messaging features, and the Children’s Society has described cases in which children were asked for inappropriate photos in exchange for money.

But the expansion also raises a question that will follow every step of this policy: if messaging on a shopping app is enough to get a platform banned for children, what is next? The government says its aim is to keep children safe. Its critics say the ban must be proportionate and effective — and that safety should be built into platforms, not achieved by locking children out of more and more of the internet.

Frequently asked questions

Is the UK banning under-16s from Vinted and eBay?

Not yet. The government is “looking seriously” at including the two marketplaces in its under-16 ban, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said on 8 November 2026. No final decision has been made and no complete list of banned platforms has been published.

When does the under-16 social media ban start?

The ban is due to come into force in March 2027. It was announced in June 2026 and will stop under-16s from holding accounts on 10 of the biggest platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube.

Why would shopping sites be included in a social media ban?

Because of their messaging features. Ministers and The Sunday Times say strangers can use direct messages on Vinted and eBay to contact and groom children. The Children’s Society has said some users asked children for inappropriate photos in exchange for money.

Do Vinted and eBay already ban children?

Both say their users must be 18 or over. eBay says this is because using the site involves “entering into a contract”. Vinted allows parents or guardians to create accounts for children, as long as they are used under parental supervision. Research for Ofcom suggested many children use the sites anyway — about 19% of 8- to 14-year-olds use eBay monthly and 15% use Vinted monthly.

Which other platforms could be included?

The Sunday Times suggested Depop and Facebook Marketplace could also be added. YouTube will be banned for under-16s, but YouTube Kids will not. Roblox will not be banned, but its chat features will be restricted.

Has any other country done this?

Australia introduced an under-16 social media ban in December 2025, but many children have found ways around it. Türkiye has banned social media accounts for children under 15. The UK government says it intends to take a tougher approach than Australia.

Conclusion

The UK’s under-16 social media ban was already one of the biggest changes to children’s online lives in years. Now it may grow bigger still. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s confirmation that ministers are “looking seriously” at banning under-16s from Vinted and eBay turns a social media policy into something much wider — a test of how far the state should go to keep children safe online.

The case for including marketplaces is clear: children are using these sites in large numbers, and their messaging features can be used by strangers to target them. The case against is also clear: a ban that keeps expanding risks sweeping in services families rely on, and it does nothing to teach children how to stay safe online.

Sources

• BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmzxjvpqrjxro
• The News (Pakistan): https://www.thenews.com.pk/amp/1422940-uk-government-considers-banning-under-16s-from-vinted-and-ebay
• Türkiye Today: https://www.turkiyetoday.com/region/uk-eyes-under-16-ban-on-ebay-vinted-and-depop-over-messaging-3231994

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.