Facebook puts ads on pages illegally selling animal parts
WASHINGTON — Facebook is displaying advertisements for well-known U.S. corporations along with content from group pages operated by overseas wildlife traffickers illegally selling the body parts of threatened animals, including elephant ivory, rhino horn and tiger teeth.
In a secret complaint filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, wildlife preservation advocates allege that Facebook’s failure to stop illicit traders using its service for illegal activity violates the social network’s responsibilities as a publicly traded company.
In a statement Tuesday, Facebook said its community standards forbid the sale of wildlife, endangered species or their parts.
The company said it removes groups engaging in illegal conduct when identified.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Asked about wildlife trafficking and other illegal activity happening on Facebook, he said the company could do a better job.
By the end of the year, Facebook plans to have more than 20,000 people monitoring the site for inappropriate content, he said.
“Over time, we’re going to shift increasingly to a method where more of this content is flagged upfront by AI (artificial intelligence) tools we develop,” Zuckerberg said.
The complaint was initially filed in August on behalf of an undercover informant represented by the National Whistleblower Center, a non-profit legal advocacy group.