{"id":332929,"date":"2026-11-11T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T09:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=332929"},"modified":"2026-11-11T09:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T09:25:12","slug":"from-ebay-to-vinted-uks-age-verification-rules-spreading-already","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=332929","title":{"rendered":"From eBay to Vinted, UK\u2019s \u201cAge Verification\u201d Rules Spreading Already"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kit Knightly \u2013 Off-Guardian Nov 10, 2026<\/strong><\/h1>\n

he UK\u2019s so-called \u201csocial media ban\u201d hasn\u2019t even come into force yet, and already its remit is set to spread beyond social media.<\/p>\n

We previously reported that OfCom \u2013 the UK\u2019s official censorship office \u2013 have announced that facial scans aren\u2019t accurate enough<\/a> to enforce the ban, and adults hoping to prove they are over 16 may need to use their photo ID.<\/p>\n

Well now Lisa Nandy, the UK\u2019s \u201cCulture Secretary\u201d \u2013 named in the ironic tradition of Orwell\u2019s \u201cMinistry of Truth\u201d \u2013 has told the media that the government is going to include non-social media sites in the ban.<\/p>\n

The BBC reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Government \u2018looking seriously\u2019 at banning under-16s from Vinted and eBay<\/p>\n

The concern is that \u2013 allegedly \u2013 the direct messaging available between sellers and customers on second-hand selling services is enabling \u201cgrooming\u201d.<\/p>\n

So the ban for under 16s is going to be extended to those platforms as well.<\/p>\n

Of course, just as with the \u201csocial media ban\u201d, the more correct description would be \u201crequiring ID verification from everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n

This was always going to happen.<\/p>\n

Once the \u201csocial media ban\u201d is in place to \u201cprotect children\u201d, you have a wedge in the door that can widen in two directions \u2013 either new \u201cdangers\u201d to children can be discovered, or you can broaden the definition of \u201csocial media\u201d.<\/p>\n

The UK government has already gone both ways.<\/p>\n

Let us not forget what \u201cCulture Secretary\u201d Lisa Nandy said in her speech<\/a> at the Labour Party conference last month:<\/p>\n

[We] must be a very active interventionist state, policing and regulating the online space so that people are safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019re well on our way there.<\/p>\n

The social media ban already exists alongside other new regulations limiting online chats in multiplayer games<\/a> (unless you verify your ID), \u201cdigital curfews\u201d<\/a> for 16 or 17 year-olds, age gating pornography, or suggested measures like device-level \u201cnudity detection\u201d<\/a> \u2013 which would be, in reality, mandatory software scanning every image you look at and every photo you take, or even TRY to take, in real time.<\/p>\n

The number of digital services, shops or websites for which all British citizens will be required to supply their ID is growing.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re now adding eBay, Vinted, DePop and Facebook Marketplace to that list.<\/p>\n

From there it will be Amazon, or Etsy, or Temu. Then Deliveroo, JustEat, UberEats or any online shopping at all.<\/p>\n

Then any online activity.<\/p>\n

Then internet access in general.<\/p>\n

\u2026unless you sign up to the governments new app to verify your age.<\/p>\n

The digital ID beast is slouching toward Bethlehem, to be born.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Support Off-Guardian<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weeks ago he told you it wouldn’t just be social media and now its remit has spread beyond. Kit Knightly explains<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":332931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-332929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature-posts"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=332929"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332929\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332932,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332929\/revisions\/332932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/332931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=332929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=332929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=332929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}