The Chinese secondhand trading platform Xianyu is facing allegations of hosting an illicit industry involving the sale of sexual services, including claims that minors as young as 14 are being offered for trade. An investigation by Hebei Television’s Today Investigation program revealed that illicit operators are allegedly using the platform to facilitate illegal activities by disguising them as legitimate services.
According to the report, merchants use terms such as model photography, home fitness, and swimming lessons to list items, often using photographs of women to attract users. These listings reportedly direct users away from the Xianyu platform to private communication channels, such as WeChat. One shop purportedly offering swimming lessons was found to be selling access to groups where users could view profiles of women for a fee, with claims that services were available nationwide.
The investigation further alleged that some listings offered minors for sexual services, with prices ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. The report claimed that operators offered to provide medical verification of virginity and identity checks to potential clients.
In response to the findings, Xianyu stated that illicit groups often use the platform as an entry point for traffic before moving actual transactions or fraudulent activities to external sites, making them difficult to track. The company noted that these groups frequently use evolving coded language to bypass automated moderation systems, which complicates detection efforts.
Legal experts have criticized the platform for relying too heavily on automated systems rather than human oversight, arguing that machines struggle to identify constantly changing illicit terminology. Regulatory authorities have announced that they will collaborate with public security agencies to launch a targeted crackdown on these activities, particularly those involving the exploitation of minors.
Xianyu stated that it has established a special task force to address the issue and is working with law enforcement to combat the use of the platform for illegal traffic redirection.
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