Dark Commerce

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Mankind has traded tangible goods for millennia, but recent technology has fundamentally altered trade dynamics in both legitimate and illegal economies. Over the past three decades, illicit trade has evolved dramatically, operating in a high-tech environment influenced by computers and social media. In this landscape, trade becomes impersonal and anonymized, allowing vast profits to be generated quickly, with minimal accountability for sellers, intermediaries, and buyers. Louise Shelley investigates how advancements in technology, communication, and globalization drive the rapid growth of dangerous illegal markets, including those for narcotics, child pornography, and sex trafficking, all facilitated through online platforms. The illicit economy exacerbates global issues such as ongoing conflicts, the spread of arms and weapons of mass destruction, and environmental degradation. Shelley delves into the trade of tangible goods—like drugs, human trafficking, arms, wildlife, timber, fish, antiquities, and counterfeits—while also highlighting the damaging trade in cyberspace, where intangible commodities result in significant losses for consumers and organizations due to identity theft, bank fraud, data breaches, and intellectual property theft.