The Digital Wildlife Bazaar: Platform Accountability For Illegal Animal Trade In India
Pallavi Lakhera, Research Scholar, Faculty of Law, University of Allahabad, India
ABSTRACT
Illegal wildlife trade in India increasingly begins with a reel, listing or private message rather than a physical market. Public posts advertise protected birds, reptiles, live exotic animals and wildlife products; negotiations then move to direct messages, encrypted applications and online payments. Indian wildlife law can punish the seller, while information-technology law conditionally protects intermediaries that merely host third-party content. Neither framework clearly allocates responsibility when a platform recommends a suspicious listing, receives a precise report, preserves no usable evidence or repeatedly reconnects the same seller with buyers. This article argues against making platforms generally liable for every unlawful post or requiring indiscriminate monitoring of private communications. It instead proposes a graduated model based on platform function and knowledge. Public marketplaces and recommendation systems should bear stronger duties than encrypted messaging services. Once a sufficiently specific notice is received, an intermediary should preserve the listing and associated records, restrict the transaction, act against repeat offenders and cooperate with authorised investigators. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau should operate a verified notice channel and publish species-linked red flags. Evidence preservation must accompany removal, because deletion alone may protect the trafficker and imperil the animal. This model aligns intermediary safe harbour with wildlife protection, privacy and reliable digital prosecution.
Keywords: online wildlife trade; intermediary liability; social media; digital evidence; Wildlife Protection Act; CITES.
