eBay Australia customers will not be impacted by a new ban on adult-only goods and content that will impact customers overseas.
Update: May 18, 2021 at 10:30am:
While users in other markets, such as the US, will be subjected to the policy change from June 15, eBay has confirmed to Gizmodo Australia that Australian users will not be impacted by this.
As per the Australian eBay restricted adult items policy, which has not changed, “sexually-oriented adult material is not allowed.”
You can read the original story below.
As first reported by Adult Video News, eBay has informed US sellers in the “Adult Only” category of the website of the change, which is effective from mid-June, giving them one month to make alternative arrangements.
“We have revised our Adult Items policy,” the notice reads. “Starting June 15, 2021, items showing sexual activity, sexual content or sexually suggestive poses will no longer be allowed on eBay.com.”
The policy itself is quite interesting, with eBay continuing to allow magazines including Playboy, Playgirl, Mayfair and Penthouse Magazine, but explicitly banning “sexually explicit anime, comics, books, films, animation, manga, hentai, yaoi.”
Basically, eBay has concluded that “most adult-only items are prohibited.”
If you’re wondering what eBay constitutes as “sexually explicit”, it’s a pretty conservative definition.
The policy essentially bans any nudity, which it defines as “showing any part of male or female genitalia, anus, or female breasts where the areola or nipple is visible.” Interestingly, this also includes when the aforementioned areas are covered with sheer or tight clothing.
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Additionally, “people engaged in sexual contact or activity” is considered nudity under the guidelines.
Nude art will be allowed to be sold under the Art and Collectibles categories provided it doesn’t “contain sexually suggestive poses.”
Meanwhile, sex toys in unopened packages (for hygiene reasons, obviously) are able to be sold provided the packaging itself doesn’t contain nudity or sexually explicit content.
Penalties for violating the new guidelines include “administratively ending or canceling listings, hiding or demoting all listings from search results, lowering seller rating, buying or selling restrictions, and account suspension.”
“We want to make adult items available to those who wish to purchase them and can do so legally, while preventing those who do not wish to view or purchase these items from easily accessing them,” eBay said of the policy change.
You can read the full Australian policy here.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story asserted that the changes would be coming to Australia, this has now been edited for accuracy.