Facebook's new commerce policies prohibit illegal sale of Amazon land on Marketplace

With this policy update, Facebook will now review listings on Marketplace against an international organization's authoritative database of protected areas to identify listings that may violate this new policy. Based on specific criteria, the social media giant said that it will seek to identify and block new listings in such protected areas.

Facebook has announced new measures to prohibit people from selling land or property of any type in ecological conservation areas within the Amazon rainforest on its Marketplace.

The social networking giant has updated its commerce policies to curb attempts to sell or buy land of any type in ecological conservation areas on its commerce products across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

With this policy update, Facebook will now review listings on Marketplace against an international organization's authoritative database of protected areas to identify listings that may violate this new policy. Based on specific criteria, the social media giant said that it will seek to identify and block new listings in such protected areas.

"We're committed to sustainability and to protecting land in ecological conservation areas. Protected areas are crucial for conserving habitats and ecosystems and are critical to tackling the global nature crisis. The sale of land in conservation areas happens on other platforms and offline as well, but we are committed to keeping working with sustainability partners and authorities to address this issue on our apps the best way possible in the long term," Facebook wrote in a blog post on Friday.

Earlier this year, BBC investigation revealed that protected areas of the Amazon rainforest, which is the largest tropical rainforest and one of the most biodiverse places on earth, are being listed and sold via Facebook. This commerce policy update is the first step Facebook is taking to address this issue, with the company promising to make appropriate improvements over time.