Advertisements are everywhere across the internet. It’s probably one of the most effective ways to get your products and services known nowadays. Microsoft’s Bing ad program attempts to help regulate the content of advertisements to correspond with a moral and legal compass.
Bing announced through its blog post over the weekend that they would no longer stand for wildlife trafficking advertisements in its platform. The company teamed up with non-governmental organizations associated with protecting the wildlife and environment. Partners such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), TRAFFIC (a wildlife trade news organization), and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The addition fully reads:
Advertising that promotes the trading or sale of products or services derived from endangered or threatened species is not allowed. This Advertising for the sale and shipment of live animals is also prohibited. A few examples are included below. A complete list can be found in this document concerning wildlife-friendly online trade.
Elephant ivory
Leopard, tiger, or lion hide/skin
Live animals such as tortoises or turtles
Rhino horns
Sale of tigers or other endangered/threatened animals
Shark fins
Whale or dolphin hunting trips
Microsoft already had a policy protecting endangered or threatened animals, but this policy defines it with more details.
The new guideline joins other important restrictions on Microsoft’s ad program. Bing also doesn’t accept ads that include deceptive products/services, drugs, weapons, and targeting minors with alcohol. While the restriction of these ads doesn’t necessarily stop the act themselves, at least Microsoft has thrown a wrench in the works.
Microsoft wasn’t the only company that adopted this policy. In recognition of World Elephant Day, six other tech industry leaders made their stand against wildlife trafficking. Joining together with eBay, Etsy, Gumtreee, Pinterest, Tencent, and Yahoo!, each company did their part in helping fight against the criminals and making the internet safer for humans and animals alike.
