TikTok joins the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online
TikTok has joined the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online. Established in 2018 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), TRAFFIC and IFAW, the Coalition brings together e-commerce, search, and social platforms across the world to reduce wildlife trafficking online.
TikTok Community Guidelines spells out that any content that depicts or promotes the poaching or illegal trade of wildlife is not allowed on its platform and will be removed when identified. Since November, TikTok teams have removed 85.3% of this kind of content before it received a single view. The company’saAdvertising Policies also make it clear that we prohibit the advertising of products derived from protected animals or the sale of animals themselves.
TikTok statement: “We know that the criminals who facilitate wildlife trafficking constantly change their tactics to evade detection that makes this kind of partnership essential. Working with the Coalition will enable the sharing of best practices within industry, support the monitoring of emerging developments, and give us the opportunity to hear honest feedback that helps us to continue to improve. We're excited to be working with the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online to celebrate and protect some of our planet's most endangered animals and hope that this work will go some way towards maintaining TikTok as a platform full of joy and creativity.”
Giavanna Grein, Senior Program Officer, TRAFFIC at WWF: “The scale of wildlife trafficking online is very challenging to quantify given its illegal nature, but we know that online platforms like TikTok are essential to the solution. Since the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online’s outset, the 39 participating companies have blocked or removed 4 million prohibited wildlife listings. We’re looking forward to working alongside TikTok and helping mobilize its millions of users to creatively prevent this illegal trade from growing on the platform.”
