15% of primary schoolers use Vinted, Ofcom finds

Government ministers are preparing to expand the social media ban for under-16s to include online marketplaces, following findings that a large number of primary school-aged children use these platforms. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy confirmed on Sunday that the government is looking seriously at including sites like Depop, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace in the ban. Regulations are expected to go to cabinet signoff this week, with Nandy presenting the proposal to parliament in December.

The push for stricter controls follows reports of sexual exploitation through direct messaging functions on resale apps. The Children’s Society stated that young users are increasingly being asked for indecent photos in exchange for money or gifts. Additionally, some photos of young users have been manipulated using AI to create deepfaked nudes without their consent. These interactions occur despite many platforms having minimum age requirements.

Lucy, who is now 25, began reselling clothes on Depop at age 15. She described a buyer who raised her £10 asking price to £30 and wrote, “If you include your pants I’ll pay more.” She also discovered that images of herself taken when she was 17 had been scraped from Depop and circulated on Reddit. Lucy noted that hundreds of other girls have had similar experiences, with men screenshotting images of young women selling items like bikinis.

Hannah, whose name has been changed, listed her seven-year-old daughter’s pink swimming costume on Vinted for £1. A user with a male handle messaged her, asking, “So a little girl wore this yh?” and “Naked?” Hannah blocked the user and reported the incident, describing the exchange as disgusting and disturbing. Her case is one of many where innocuous listings of children’s secondhand clothes attract sexualized comments.

Ofcom found that 15% of eight to 14-year-olds use Vinted each month, even though the site requires users to be at least 18. Another report suggests some children bypass age checks to access restricted services. Vinted states that minors can only access the site under the supervision of adult account holders. Depop requires users to be 13 or over to set up an account, while eBay and Facebook Marketplace are also subject to the proposed new rules.

Child safety campaigners have raised concerns that a sweeping ban could exclude children from the internet entirely. Karen Garland, head of policy at the Marie Collins Foundation, said the goal should be to make spaces safer by design. She argued that extending a ban into other spaces may not be the best route, though Lucy acknowledged that selling clothes online carries extremely dangerous consequences. Lucy, who continues to find sexualized images of herself online, noted that the risk does not end at 18.

Platform representatives said they have measures in place to protect users. A Vinted spokesperson stated the company uses dedicated moderation teams and detection tools to spot and remove harmful content, taking action up to a permanent ban. An eBay spokesperson said the company encourages users to keep conversations on the platform and report suspicious behavior. Depop said using someone’s images without permission violates its terms of service, which prohibit sharing another user’s content without consent.