The UK is planning to ban under-16s from accessing second-hand sales platforms such as Vinted and eBay. This measure is part of a wider government initiative, which announced in June this year a ban on the 10 largest social networks for this age group, set to come into force in March next year.
The ban will cover popular platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, and is now being considered for extension to platforms known for selling second-hand items, including Vinted and eBay. This decision has been made to protect children, given concerns that messaging functions on these platforms allow strangers to access and potentially exploit younger users.
Vinted, which has 17 million users in the UK, requires its users to be over 18, similar to eBay, where the age limit is also 18 due to the legal aspects of entering into contracts when posting ads. In addition to Vinted and eBay, other platforms such as Depop and Facebook Marketplace are also under consideration for the ban.
The government has emphasised that the ban will cover platforms whose primary purpose is to enable social interaction and content publishing, particularly those with livestreaming features or the ability for strangers to contact children. For example, YouTube will be banned for under-16s, while YouTube Kids will remain accessible. Roblox will not be fully banned, but certain features such as chat will be restricted. This UK measure follows a similar move by Australia, but the UK plans stricter enforcement of the ban. Regulator Ofcom recently issued recommendations for reliably determining user age on social networks to facilitate the implementation of these rules.
