EBay is undertaking an internal assessment of its online platform's protective measures after Reuters identified multiple gender-prediction testing kits available for shipment to India, where utilising such items constitutes a criminal offence under legislation established to combat female foeticide.The e-commerce giant removed nine listings featuring gender-testing products — among them items manufactured by SneakPeek and Peekaboo — after being alerted by Reuters last week that independent merchants were offering them for dispatch to Indian destination addresses.In a statement provided to Reuters, eBay said: "These listings violated local regulations and eBay's policies, and we are reviewing these controls, including the relevant shipping and checkout experience, to determine whether further enhancements are appropriate,"The enterprise added: "EBay has controls in place intended to prevent certain gender-prediction products from being visible in India,"Although eBay operates no dedicated local retail website within India, it facilitates international delivery to the nation. Serving 136 million active buyers worldwide, it functions as a prominent global online marketplace hosting third-party vendor sales.eBay has started an internal review after the issue was flagged (Getty/iStock)Major platforms including Amazon and eBay EBAY.O have faced prior regulatory scrutiny in India concerning listed illicit inventory, such as prohibited wildlife items and e-cigarettes.A investigation by Reuters showed Amazon's US domain lists gender-testing merchandise and exports varied items globally to India, yet restricts delivery options for these tests.The Indian lawPassed in 1994, India's legislation banning prenatal sex determination was enacted following a severe decline in female births relative to male infants after ultrasound technology spread widely. Campaigners maintain this apparatus enabled families to ascertain fetal gender early enough to terminate female pregnancies instead of raising daughters.Societal preference for sons stems from patrilineal succession practices, expectations that male offspring care for elderly parents, and financial dowry demands exacted during marriage ceremonies by the groom's household, despite long-standing statutory prohibitions prohibiting dowry payments across the country.Infringements of sex selection laws carry sentences reaching up to three years' imprisonment, alongside elevated sanctions for subsequent offences. The Indian health ministry made no reply to enquiries concerning the findings by Reuters.Cybersecurity entity FalconFeeds originally alerted Reuters to the e-commerce postings. The active advertisements listed testing kits priced between $6.99 and $156.59, offering delivery into India.A specific eBay advertisement featured the Peekaboo diagnostic product, produced by American firm DNA Diagnostics Center, promoted online to "get your baby's gender at 6 weeks ... accurate and easy to use", alongside "FREE SHIPPING".In comments sent to Reuters, DNA Diagnostics Center stated that it neither sells nor distributes kits for resale within India, noting it cannot manage secondary actions by independent buyers after a commercial purchase has occurred.SneakPeek failed to reply to requests seeking comment.India targets Google Search resultsReflecting New Delhi's rising concern over these commodities, Peekaboo — despite not being distributed officially in India — was cited in two government directives sent to Google on 9 August, demanding the deletion of search engine results linking directly to its online website.The documents, examined by Reuters and dispatched by India's health ministry, stated that Google's regional portal surfaced "violative information" guiding users to pages "directly or indirectly promoting/advertising the gender prediction of an unborn child."India is targeting Google Search results (AFP/Getty)Internet search engines generally possess mechanisms to suppress particular web links within search index listings per individual territory.Within those communications, officials included images demonstrating three search terms — "peekaboo test," "buy peekaboo test online" and "boy or girl" — returning routes to the Peekaboo address, requesting that Google halt indexing in accordance with domestic laws.A review by Reuters on Tuesday verified that the three search queries continued generating destination links to the Peekaboo domain.Both Google and the Indian health ministry declined to address questions submitted by Reuters.