Think of the illegal wildlife trade as the internet’s ugliest open secret. Exotic animals listed on social media. Ivory sold through e-commerce platforms. Payments laundered through crypto wallets. Now, a coalition of some of the biggest names in tech and blockchain has decided to do something about it.
On June 22, Google, Meta, TikTok, Alibaba, PayPal, Chainalysis, and TRM Labs, among others, announced a joint commitment to combat illegal wildlife trafficking using AI detection tools and blockchain analytics. The initiative was convened by Prince William and The Royal Foundation’s United for Wildlife during London Climate Action Week.
The scale of the problem
The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that illegal wildlife trade generates up to $23 billion annually. Approximately one million plant and animal species face the threat of extinction partly because of this trade.
The participating tech platforms collectively represent about 20% of global e-commerce and reach 90% of the world’s social media users.
