Gender test kits on eBay were removed from the platform after Reuters flagged that several listings offered the banned products for delivery to India, where using them to determine a fetus’s sex is a criminal offence. The company has since opened an internal review of the safeguards meant to prevent such items from reaching Indian buyers in the first place.
Reuters told eBay last week that nine listings on the platform showed gender prediction kits, including those made by brands such as SneakPeek and Peekaboo, being offered by third-party sellers for delivery within India. Shortly after being notified, eBay removed the listings from its site.
How Gender Test Kits on eBay Reached Indian Buyers
The kits in question were listed by independent, third-party sellers operating on eBay’s marketplace rather than by the company itself, a structure that has repeatedly made it difficult for online platforms to catch every restricted product before it becomes visible to buyers in jurisdictions where it is banned. Because such marketplaces host millions of listings from sellers around the world, region-specific prohibitions like India’s ban on prenatal sex determination products can slip through automated screening systems designed to catch broader categories of restricted goods.
Neither Google nor India’s health ministry responded to queries from Reuters regarding the listings or the broader question of how such products continue to surface on major online platforms.
eBay’s Response and Ongoing Review
In a statement to Reuters, eBay said the listings violated both local regulations and the company’s own policies. The company said it is reviewing its controls, including its shipping and checkout systems, to determine whether further enhancements are needed to prevent similar listings from reaching India in the future. The review signals that eBay sees the issue as a gap in its enforcement infrastructure rather than an isolated case involving a handful of sellers.
The report was compiled by Reuters correspondent Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru, with editing by Aditya Kalra and Raju Gopalakrishnan, and adds to a growing body of reporting on how banned or restricted products continue to circulate on major global e-commerce platforms despite policies that formally prohibit them.
India’s Law Against Prenatal Sex Determination
India has banned the use of prenatal sex determination technology since 1994, a measure introduced to counter a longstanding cultural preference for sons that has historically led to widespread termination of female fetuses and a skewed national sex ratio. Under the law, using such a test or facilitating one is a criminal offence, with penalties that can extend to as much as three years in prison for those found in violation.
Kits marketed as gender prediction tests, which typically claim to determine a baby’s sex through a urine or blood sample sent for laboratory analysis, fall squarely within the scope of this prohibition when sold or used within India, regardless of where the manufacturer or seller is based. Their availability on international marketplaces has long posed an enforcement challenge, since a product legally sold in one country can still be shipped into a jurisdiction where its use is criminalised.
A Recurring Problem for E-Commerce Platforms in India
This is not the first time major online marketplaces have come under scrutiny in India for listing restricted products. Platforms such as Amazon and eBay have previously faced criticism for hosting listings of banned wildlife items and electronic cigarettes, both of which are prohibited under Indian regulations despite being legally available in many other markets.
The recurrence of such cases highlights a persistent tension for global e-commerce platforms in India, where enforcement often depends on external reporting rather than proactive detection. As Indian authorities continue to press technology companies over locally banned products, from search advertisements to marketplace listings, the removal of these nine listings is likely to renew scrutiny of how effectively platforms like eBay police country-specific restrictions before such items reach the buyers they are legally barred from serving.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, September 9th, 2026
Follow SouthAsianDesk on X, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business and current affairs from across South Asia.
