On World Rhino Day, You Can Help
It’s time we come together to save rhinos.
In the last decade, poachers have wiped out almost 9,000 rhinos, reducing their numbers to fewer than 25,000 left in the world. Poached for their horns, which are prized in traditional Chinese medicine, rhinos will be extinct in a decade if the current rate of slaughter is not reversed.
There are conservation groups trying to reduce demand for rhino horn in Southeast Asian consumer markets, and park rangers fighting poachers in African parks and conservancies. But it’s not enough. At the Alliance to Counter Crime Online, we are working to complement these important efforts by dismantling the digital marketplaces where criminals sell rhino horn and other endangered wildlife goods to buyers.
The Largest Retail Markets for Rhino Horn
You might think that buyers purchase rhino horn in traditional medicine shops, or in black market bazaars found on dark alleyways. In fact, it’s all just a click away on your cellphone. The largest retail markets for endangered wildlife goods can be found on closed and secret groups on social media platforms, in particular Facebook, Instagram and WeChat.
One ACCO member, Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism, sources and analyzes data to track and expose eco-crimes around the world. Oxpeckers posted this helpful infographic which lays out all the ways that social media platforms facilitate the illegal wildlife trade. Criminals can market their goods to buyers and potential buyers. They can broker a deal using encrypted message systems, and even receive payment over Facebook payment systems.
Another ACCO member, CINTOC, led a 2016 investigation to penetrate a web of rhino horn and ivory traffickers selling their goods across Facebook. The investigation documented multiple crime syndicates each selling tons of ivory and dozens of rhino horn every month.
It’s important to realize that Facebook is not just passively allowing this to happen; it’s actively profiting from it. Advertising revenue from the billions of users who log onto Facebook make up 89% of the firm’s revenue. When there are tens of thousands of people logging on to buy illegal wildlife goods, Facebook is earning money off them. And by profiting from criminal activity, Facebook is in violation of U.S. regulations.
You Can Help Push Organized Crime off Facebook
Using existing laws, U.S. regulators can take steps to force public firms like Facebook to clean up their act. The U.S. Congress is also preparing to reform outdated laws governing the Internet. We must act now to make sure these reforms protect the world’s most vulnerable.
You can take part today by signing our petition, and urging U.S. lawmakers to act.
For the sake of rhinos, it’s time to counter crime online and reform social media.
Help us shut down wildlife markets on Facebook: SIGN OUR PETITION.
