Overview
- A coalition of conservation NGOs released a report on Monday accusing Meta's Facebook of hosting the world's largest single known illegal wildlife market and of effectively encouraging the trade through platform features.
- Researchers at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime tracked more than 20,000 adverts offering over 260,000 wildlife products between April 2024 and March 2026, with roughly three quarters appearing on Facebook.
- The listings include dead pangolins, rhino horn and live primates, researchers estimate the detected advertised value topped $66 million, and about 84% of items found on Facebook are banned from commercial cross-border trade under CITES.
- Investigators say many flagged accounts and groups remain active after public reports, while Meta points to its policies and a recent multi-firm pledge to act but has not disclosed which accounts take part in its monetisation programmes.
- Traffickers exploit paid ads, subscription features, algorithmic recommendations, language gaps in moderation and disappearing-message apps, and conservationists are calling for transparent monetisation data, demonstrable takedowns or stronger regulation.