Body parts from threatened wildlife widely sold on Facebook

This screen grab from a Facebook group and photographed on a computer screen in Washington, Monday shows what appears to be a bucket of tiger teeth offered for sale on a Facebook page. In a complaint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, wildlife preservation advocates allege that Facebook’s failure to stop illicit traders utilizing its platform for illegal activity violates the social network’s responsibilities as a publicly traded company.
This screen grab from a Facebook group and photographed on a computer screen in Washington, Monday shows what appears to be a bucket of tiger teeth offered for sale on a Facebook page. In a complaint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, wildlife preservation advocates allege that Facebook’s failure to stop illicit traders utilizing its platform for illegal activity violates the social network’s responsibilities as a publicly traded company. The Associated Press

By Michael Biesecker and Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press

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WASHINGTON >> Facebook is displaying advertisements on 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 complaint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, wildlife preservation advocates allege that Facebook’s failure to stop illicit traders from utilizing its platform violates the social network’s responsibilities as a publicly traded company.

Facebook didn’t respond to requests for comment. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify Tuesday before Congress about leaks of user data and Russian election meddling.

The confidential complaint obtained by The Associated Press was initially filed in August on behalf of an undercover informant represented by the National Whistleblower Center. The informant recorded video of face-to-face meetings with wildlife traffickers set up over Facebook.