Sexualised messages on resale apps spur UK to weigh under-16s ban on online marketplaces

When Hannah listed her seven-year-old daughter's pink swimming costume on Vinted for £1 in June, she expected interest from other parents. Instead, a user with a male handle asked whether a little girl had worn it, then followed up with the question: 'Naked?' After firing back 'What do you think?', she blocked the account and reported it to the platform, later calling the exchange 'disgusting' and 'disturbing'.

Her experience reflects a wider pattern. Ordinary listings of children's and young people's secondhand clothes on reselling apps are drawing sexualised comments through direct messaging. The Children's Society has warned that some young users are increasingly being asked for indecent photos in return for money or gifts, and that some images posted on the platforms have been turned into AI deepfake nudes without consent.

In response, ministers are considering banning under-16s from platforms including Depop, eBay and Facebook Marketplace, according to the Sunday Times, amid growing concern that private messaging functions have become a new frontline in child exploitation. Vinted, which has a minimum age of 18, would have to join the other sites in restricting access through strict age verification.

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said on Sunday that the government was 'looking seriously' at expanding the under-16s social media ban to cover online marketplaces. The regulations are understood to have been sent for cabinet signoff this week, with Nandy expected to present them to parliament in December.

Young women have described troubling buyer interactions on TikTok and Reddit, including requests for used underwear to be included with purchases and unsolicited sexual remarks about their appearance. Lucy, who began selling clothes on Depop at 15, recalled listing an item for about £10 before a buyer raised the offer to £30, telling her: 'If you include your pants I'll pay more.' She said it made her feel 'oh my God, awful'.

Lucy later found that photos of her taken while she was under 18, posted to advertise her clothes, had been scraped from Depop and were circulating on Reddit. 'It would be me at 17 trying to sell a bikini, and these men have screenshotted these images,' she said, adding: 'It's not just me, it's hundreds of other girls.' Around two years ago, she discovered Discord users had stolen her old Vinted and Depop photos and used AI to make 'fully nude' deepfakes of her, which she called 'deplorable'.

Vinted says minors can only use the site under the supervision of adult account holders, while Depop says users must be 13 or over to open an account and over 18 to use its payment systems. Yet Ofcom has found that 15% of eight to 14-year-olds use Vinted each month, and a separate report suggests some children can bypass checks on age-restricted services.

Some campaigners worry a broad ban could cut children off from the internet altogether. Karen Garland, head of policy at the Marie Collins Foundation, which supports victims of technology-assisted child sexual exploitation, said: 'We need to make spaces for children and young people that are safer by design. And so, in some ways, extending a ban into other spaces may not be the best route overall.'

Lucy herself is torn. 'It's a real shame because there are probably very young girls that maybe are from different backgrounds.. that maybe really need that money,' she said, while acknowledging that selling clothes on Vinted can carry 'extremely dangerous' consequences. Now 25 and still finding sexualised images of herself online, she noted the risk does not end at 18.

Vinted said it has 'zero tolerance for harmful or explicit content' and uses moderation teams and detection tools, with penalties up to permanent bans and reports to authorities. EBay pointed to policies encouraging users to keep conversations on the platform and report suspicious behaviour. Depop said using someone's images without permission violates its terms of service and that it takes community safety 'extremely seriously'. The names Hannah and Lucy are pseudonyms.