sexually explicit items E Bay Australia

[site120]

Can anyone out there shed a little light on an issue I have had running with E Bay Australia for a while now, Adult Only material is forbidden on E Bay Australia, here is a quick run down on their guidelines regarding Adult Only item:

Anything designed for use in sexual or adult activities may not be listed on eBay. At our discretion we may remove items including, but not limited to:

• Adult-orientated domain names

• Anatomically-accurate sex dolls

• Any item which, because of their nature or because of the item description, appear to be designed for use in sexual/adult activity

• Netsuke (miniature Japanese sculpture) that contains nudity or explicit sexual content may not be listed

• Nude playing cards or trading cards

• Sex toys

  
   Now this is the policy on these items, why are there literally thousands of adult only listings on E Bay Australia from Australian sellers, besides the obvious(money), how does E Bay keep getting away with continually listing items and hosting online stores filled with adult items if it's in breach of their own policies???, complaining to E Bay does absolutely nothing, the ACCC won't touch it, can anyone point me in the right direction on this matter and which organisation I can make a complaint to, it's the fact that kids under the age of 18yrs have full access to E Bay and there is an abudance of very explicit material on E Bay Australia, there are also no warnings of adult material present on E Bay Australia on their home page or splash screens...thank you

[thecatspjs]

I think this debate is really sad TBH

The goods in question are not any that would ever in a pink fit get classified as a therapeutic good.  

[luna-2304]

“Hello, everyone. This thread is becoming interpersonal and disputes are occurring. Could we please bring the discussion back to 'sexually explicit items E Bay Australia' and refrain from posting disruptive comments. Thanks!”

[*lee42]

It seems other countries can say and sell anything on Australian eBay except US,

just try writing some of the words they say in their ads, you won't get far.

[i-love-my-sheep]

My understanding is when you ship worldwide, you have to abide by the rules of all the international sites where your listing will appear. That should mean that if someone in say the US lists adult type products and say .au and .de don't allow that type of content, it shouldn't be allowed to show on those sites (regardless of your own personal feelings on that), or if say the .it site doesn't allow something like car parts, your listing shouldn't be allowed to appear on their site. Seems that may only apply to us, not international sellers who's listings appear on the .au site. I personally don't care about that sort of thing, but if the rules say they can't be there, then the rules should be enforced.

[*crikey*mate*]

Hello chooks

you are spot on.

But there has been a lot of misinformation posted in this thread and there seems to be a lot of confusion over what is and what isn't allowed, what is and isn't legal, what is and isn't classified in certain ways etc as a result of this.

But ya get that I spose.

I'm sure that some prohibited listings slip through, but there is not enough information in this thread to determine if any of those items are being referred to.

The OP was asking why eBay weren't removing some listings, my suggestion was because they did not breach policy.

The closest we got was still pictures (as opposed to the actual movie being played/ broadcast which is where the ACMA MAY come into it - ie - moving pictures/broadcast material or child pornography/beastiality etc) of breasts and genitalia, but not enough detail was provided to determine if those particular pictures met the criteria for being prohibited. (ie aereola showing)

The bottom line is, by law, the display of and sale of items which may be considwered adult in nature by many, are not necessarily illegal, and in many cases, as evidenced, niot even against policy. It is not illegal to sell things, nor is it against policy to sell items which are listed on the therepeutic thingo that I mentioned way back in my first post in response to the infor available at that time.

For many items, a person does not even have to be 18 for them to be supplied/purchase such items.

Restictions on age only apply to things like DVDs where Broadcasting laws and classification laws come into play, but as eBay does have an age screening process in place, this satisfies their legal requirements as far as ACMA and thus the law is concerned, so then it is just a matter of dicerning hiow ebay's policies are applied.

[thecatspjs]

---

@ilovemychooks wrote:

My understanding is when you ship worldwide, you have to abide by the rules of all the international sites where your listing will appear. That should mean that if someone in say the US lists adult type products and say .au and .de don't allow that type of content, it shouldn't be allowed to show on those sites (regardless of your own personal feelings on that), or if say the .it site doesn't allow something like car parts, your listing shouldn't be allowed to appear on their site. Seems that may only apply to us, not international sellers who's listings appear on the .au site. I personally don't care about that sort of thing, but if the rules say they can't be there, then the rules should be enforced.

---

Thats exactly what seems to be happening.

The listings that I reported to see how quickly eBay responds to this issue have included photos and descriptions of sexual activity which is indeed subject to regulations applying to the internet in Australia.

Thinkuknow is a great initiative that has the Federal Police as a partner.  On its website it states:

How to report inappropriate content What is inappropriate content?

Under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, certain types of online content are prohibited.  These include, but are not limited to: child abuse images, unrestricted access to pornography, illegal activities, and terrorist-related material.

In Au anyone can view eBay listings without registering or logging in, it is only if you purchase that you have to register for access.

[*crikey*mate*]

The definition of pornography.

Pornography (often abbreviated as "porn" or "porno" in informal usage) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purpose of sexual arousal.

[thecatspjs]

According to the thinkuknow website which focuses on cybersafety for families, of which AFP are a partner - pornography is described as: depictions of adults engaged in sexual activity.

I would assume that this description would best fit eBay listings as the pornography is used to sell things and I am not sure that those depicted in the acts were enjoying themselves, or demeaning themselves for the money.

[davewil1964]

Get a writ, then. As you are sure of your grounds, it wouldn't be hard. Pun intended.

Or you could work in the real world.

[li.vish]

Hello, everyone. This discussion is getting a little heated. Could we please communicate with a more civil tone. Thanks!