Mapping the emerging online trade Wildlife Trade Symposium: Evolving Perspectives on the demand for illegal wildlife products

Joss Wright, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, gives a talk for the symposium on mapping the online illegal wildlife trade. The internet’s role as a platform for communication and commerce brings with it the potential for a range of criminal applications. As trade and payment systems have moved online, so have the means to advertise, discover, buy, and sell illicit products. In this talk, we will discuss the extent to which the illegal wildlife trade has emerged online, within the context of general online crime, and the implications of that move. We will examine the range of different platforms used in the online illegal wildlife trade, and discuss techniques for monitoring and analysis of these platforms. Finally, we will consider open questions in assessing the online wildlife trade, and how and where interventions might be most effective.