Telegram’s problems reveal urgent need for tougher laws against illegal online trading

SEPTEMBER 18 — Dusky leaf monkeys and the elusive Malayan sun bear prowl the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. But Mother Nature’s perils aren’t the only things they have to watch out for — they’re also prized prey for a more insidious threat.

Between 2020 and 2023, Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks recorded 654 cases of illegal sales of exotic wildlife. The vast trade network, supported by syndicates, hunters and opportunistic sellers, thrives mainly online.

Demand is high and fueled by a range of dubious motives. For example, Malayan bears are hunted for their bile, which is often used in certain types of traditional medicine.

Others just want an exotic pet to show off. In Singapore, the instant messaging service Telegram is a teeming (underground) marketplace for live animals, among other illegal activities on the platform for which its founder, Pavel Durov, is under investigation.

One of three red pandas, once destined for the exotic wildlife trade, at a reserve in Luang Prabang, Laos, May 8, 2018. Between 2020 and 2023, Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks recorded 654 cases of illegal sales of exotic wildlife. The vast trade network, supported by syndicates, hunters and opportunistic sellers, thrives mainly online. — AFP pic

It’s an ASEAN-wide problem. It’s estimated that the region is responsible for a quarter of the world’s illegal wildlife trade. But the disturbing reality is that it’s much more than that. Illicit trade of all kinds, from tobacco to counterfeit products, is rife in ASEAN, negatively impacting countries’ key economic sectors.

Worse still, much of this black market activity still takes place on cross-border online platforms – both e-commerce and instant messaging services – which are abused by criminals to sell and distribute illicit products across the region.

Effectively combating this growing, dynamic threat will of course require concerted efforts by governments and the private and non-profit sectors. But ASEAN’s philosophy of cooperation alone is not enough. These partnerships and dialogues must also be supported by robust legislation to give authorities an extra edge over criminals and take concrete action against them.

The technical consideration

Technology is giving the illicit trade ecosystem a boost. While established e-commerce platforms offer a seemingly legitimate venue for selling illicit goods, instant messaging services often offer end-to-end encryption, allowing for discreet and secure exchanges between buyers and sellers.

LINE, for example, is Thailand’s most popular communication app, but besides its famously cute stickers and user-friendly interface, it’s also a hub for less savory activities.

Just earlier this year, a man in his early 20s was arrested for selling vapes through a LINE chatroom, the name of which was frequently changed to avoid detection by police. Despite Thailand’s total ban on e-cigarettes, they are still readily available in both online and brick-and-mortar stores.

In Indonesia, large pharmaceutical counterfeiting networks selling fake cancer treatments or weight-loss drugs also conduct a significant portion of their business online, according to research by the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade. This situation has widespread societal implications, posing serious health risks to consumers, harming the market for genuine medicines and straining public health budgets.

Furthermore, sales can take place relatively anonymously online and the large number of transactions that take place every day can easily escape regulatory scrutiny.

Collaboration meets compliance

Online crime is clearly not a problem that can be tackled alone. On the one hand, multilateral cooperation in the region needs to be stepped up. And that can’t just be at the government level — the private and non-profit sectors need to be involved as well.

In general, the world still operates under an outdated paradigm of old crime, which focuses heavily on the location where a crime was committed and the associated legal mechanisms within that specific jurisdiction. But how do you deal with organizations like Facebook or LINE that have no physical presence in your country?

The International Criminal Police Organization, better known as Interpol, is an example of the kind of collaboration across governments and sectors that we need to combat crime today. The world’s largest intergovernmental police organization recently expanded its partnership with leading cybersecurity firm Global-IB, reinforcing their shared commitment to combating cybercrime on a global scale.

But more importantly, these partnerships must be supported by effective legislation. This is essential to ensure that joint efforts are not just symbolic, and that authorities have the legal power to hold criminal entities to account and enforce compliance.

In Singapore, two codes of conduct have already been issued for both online communications and e-commerce services under the recently passed Online Criminal Harms Act, which specifically targets the evolving criminal online content.

One of the provisions is that sellers on Carousell and Facebook will have to verify their identity by the first quarter of 2025, if the number of reported scams on these platforms does not drop significantly.

The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry also issued Administrative Order 24-03 in July, which calls for the immediate suspension of vape sales on all e-marketplaces. This includes Lazada, Shopee and Facebook Marketplace, where listings of the banned items continue to be listed despite repeated requests from the government to remove them. The order will only be lifted if online sellers ensure that they fully comply with the verification of proof of age and other relevant laws and regulations, such as the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act.

While the immediate consequences are uncertain, legislation is essential to create a framework for accountability and compliance, and to hold online platforms criminally liable for facilitating illegal activities, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

We may not personally be interested in things like using e-cigarettes or tobacco in face-to-face contact, but it is not so much about the type of crime itself, but about the collective will to dismantle the dark world of online crime.

* Shane Britten is the CEO of Crime Stoppers International, a global non-profit organisation that educates communities about transnational crime and works closely with law enforcement agencies around the world to combat it.

** This is the personal opinion of the author or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malaysian Post.