eBay removes gender prediction kits offered in India and launches internal investigation

Tuesday 08 September 2026 - 10:56

The presence of kits that can predict the gender of a fetus on eBay raises questions about the platform's control mechanisms in India. After being alerted by Reuters to several listings accessible to Indian consumers, the company removed the concerned products and initiated an internal review of its protective measures.

Reuters identified at least nine listings offering gender determination or prediction kits, marketed by third-party sellers and available for shipment to India via eBay's international service.

Among the products identified were kits marketed under the brands SneakPeek and Peekaboo. The listings displayed prices ranging from $6.99 to $156.59, depending on the products.

A practice prohibited by Indian law

The marketing and use of such products raise a particularly sensitive issue in India. Since 1994, Indian legislation has prohibited prenatal gender determination as part of a framework aimed at combating selective abortions targeting female fetuses.

The regulation strictly governs techniques that allow knowledge of a child's sex before birth. It is part of a policy to combat discrimination against girls and prenatal selection practices.

In this context, the ability for consumers in India to directly order such products from an international platform raises questions about the capacity of marketplaces to adapt their controls to local regulations.

eBay removes the flagged listings

After being contacted by Reuters the previous week regarding the nine listings, eBay proceeded to remove them.

The company has also initiated a review of its control mechanisms to understand how these products were made available to customers in India despite the restrictions in place in the country.

The issue concerns particularly the functioning of marketplaces, where a portion of the available products is offered by independent sellers. The proliferation of sellers, references, and served markets complicates the uniform application of national rules.

Cross-border trade complicates controls

The case highlights a challenge specific to international platforms: a product legal in one country can be banned in another.

In the case of gender prediction kits, this regulatory difference becomes particularly sensitive when listings remain visible on a global platform and sellers offer international shipping.

The prices reported by Reuters, ranging from a few dollars to over $150, also show that these products could be offered in different commercial ranges.

The removal of the listings occurs in a context where e-commerce platforms are increasingly faced with the need to verify not only the nature of the products offered but also their compliance with the regulations of the destination countries.

Online searches also targeted in India

The problem is not limited to marketplaces. Indian authorities have also issued separate notifications regarding the appearance of results related to gender prediction in searches conducted on Google.

This situation illustrates the extent of the challenge faced by digital actors when operating in markets subject to specific restrictions.

For Indian authorities, the issue goes beyond the mere sale of a product online: it concerns access to technologies that may facilitate a practice that the law seeks to prevent.

A case that questions platform responsibility

The swift removal of the listings by eBay does not close the questions raised. The central issue now revolves around the conditions that allowed these products to appear on the platform and be offered for delivery in India.

The opening of an internal review should allow the company to examine its filtering procedures, policies applicable to third-party sellers, and geographic restriction mechanisms.

The case also highlights the limitations of automated control on global platforms. When a product is subject to very different rules depending on the country, identifying prohibited content and blocking it in the relevant territories becomes a major challenge.

For eBay, the case thus represents a test of its capabilities to enforce local restrictions in a market where the issues surrounding prenatal gender determination remain particularly sensitive.