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© Greg Armfield / WWF-UK

Deadly Messaging Ivory trade in China’s social media

© Greg Armfield / WWF-UK

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Published 24 November 2015

Online trafficking shifting from e-commerce websites to social media and closed networks

The rapid growth of Internet technology has not only offered an effective platform for communication, but also brought convenience and access to information to many people around the world, but it has also been utilized as a channel for some criminals to engage in illegal activities. In previous TRAFFIC research, a large amount of endangered species products were observed in domestic e-commerce and antique/collectable websites in China. As a result of stricter enforcement and management by the government authorities and concerned websites, TRAFFIC identified that traders of illegal wildlife products are increasingly shifting from websites to social media networks. These social media networks offer higher privacy and, thus, represent challenges for enforcement and monitoring.

Deadly Messaging: Ivory Trade in China’s Social Media

Report author(s):
Guan Jing, Xu Ling

Publication date:
November 2015