USAID strengthens the role of social media and e-commerce enterprises in countering wildlife trafficking

Vietnam’s rapidly growing social media and e-commerce sector is at risk of abuse from advertisers promoting and selling illegal wildlife products on their platforms. On November 30, USAID, through its Saving Threatened Wildlife project, organized a workshop for 70 representatives of social media and e-commerce enterprises to raise awareness of this risk and steps they can take to avoid inadvertently enabling the illegal wildlife trade. Topics discussed included relevant national and international laws regulating the trade of wildlife and e-commerce liabilities, tips on spotting advertisements for illegal wildlife products, and an introduction to the actions being taken by technology companies around the world through the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online. Participants learned about an online platform developed by the Coalition—made available to Vietnamese users by USAID—to encourage companies to take action to end wildlife trafficking online. As a result of the workshop, 10 participating companies signed a pledge committing to take action to end wildlife trafficking online.

By supporting social media and e-commerce enterprises to be active partners in preventing illegal wildlife trade on their platforms, USAID strengthens Vietnam’s efforts to combat transnational wildlife crime and protect rare and endangered species.