With changes in the tech industry, who will watch out for wildlife?

The author highlights the role of social media and technology in facilitating the illegal wildlife trade, which has an estimated annual value of at least 20 billion USD. To counter this, the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online—founded in 2018 by WWF, TRAFFIC, and IFAW—works with tech companies' Trust & Safety teams to improve content policies, training, and automated detection. Between March 2018 and September 2021, Coalition members reported removing or blocking over 11.6 million prohibited wildlife listings. The author warns that tech industry layoffs and personnel turnover threaten this progress and urges new tech teams to leverage existing institutional knowledge and partnerships with law enforcement and financial institutions to disrupt trafficking networks.

• The illegal wildlife trade is a high-profit, low-risk illicit activity with an estimated annual value of at least 20 billion USD, which threatens ecosystems, the rule of law, and increases the risk of pandemics due to disease spread from traded species.
• The Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online, established in 2018 by WWF, TRAFFIC, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), supports tech companies by strengthening prohibited content policies, training moderation teams, enhancing automated detection systems, and facilitating knowledge sharing between companies.
• Between March 2018 and September 2021, companies participating in the Coalition reported the removal or blocking of more than 11.6 million listings for prohibited wildlife.
• Progress in combating online wildlife trafficking is currently threatened by tech industry restructuring, layoffs, and high employee turnover, which result in the loss of critical points of contact and institutional knowledge.
• Effective disruption of wildlife trafficking requires multi-sectoral collaboration, including the use of citizen scientists for monitoring, financial institutions to target illicit profits, and law enforcement to prosecute organized trafficking networks using data from tech companies.

APA

Grein, G. (2023). With changes in the tech industry, who will watch out for wildlife? WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/perspectives/sustainability-works-hub/sustainability-works-index/with-changes-in-the-tech-industry-who-will-watch-out-for-wildlife/

Chicago

Grein, Giavanna. With changes in the tech industry, who will watch out for wildlife? WWF International, 2023. https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/perspectives/sustainability-works-hub/sustainability-works-index/with-changes-in-the-tech-industry-who-will-watch-out-for-wildlife/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Grein |first1=Giavanna |title=With changes in the tech industry, who will watch out for wildlife? |publisher=WWF International |date=3 March 2023 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/perspectives/sustainability-works-hub/sustainability-works-index/with-changes-in-the-tech-industry-who-will-watch-out-for-wildlife/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{grein2023with, author = {Grein, Giavanna}, title = {{With changes in the tech industry, who will watch out for wildlife?}}, publisher = {WWF International}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/perspectives/sustainability-works-hub/sustainability-works-index/with-changes-in-the-tech-industry-who-will-watch-out-for-wildlife/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }