Monday, August 03, 2015

EE censors and blocks pro-Israel sites - no restriction on vicious anti-Israel sites

I have discovered that the EE network in the UK is censoring pro-Israel websites and blogs, including my own. If you are using 3G or 4G on your mobile phone with the default settings and try to connect to such a website you get the Content Lock screen above warning that the site is not suitable for people under 18. Only by providing a credit card or changing your account settings can you get round this.

Just in case anybody thinks this has nothing to do with Israel or antisemitism please note the following:

While my pro-Israel blog is blocked, my 'twin alternative' Free Palestine Now  blog  - which has exactly the same owner and account -  is not blocked. Although it has managed to fool plenty of antisemites and anti-Israel fanatics (including, incidentally, many from the Palestine Solidarity Committee) Free Palestine Now is actually a satirical blog that pumps out ludicrous antisemitic conspiracy theories and Israel hatred in the spirit of 'real' anti-Israel websites. EE certainly do not know it is a spoof (they would censor it otherwise) - it is presumably classified as either 'pro-Palestine' or 'anti-Israel' which is OK in their eyes. I could find not a single anti-Israel site (no matter how inflammatory, including things like Electronic Intifada and all the sites dedicated to the boycott and demonisation of Israel) that was censored by EE.

Yet, other popular pro-Israel sites that are censored by EE include:
Also censored are websites that highlight Islamic extremism such as The Religion of Peace and Bare Naked Islam (although, Pamela Geller and Jihad Watch are not).

The censorship is not uniform since the obviously pro-Israel websites Sultan Knish, Elder Of Ziyon, Abu Yehuda and Israel Matzav are all allowed.

While EE makes no attempt to censor any type of anti-Israel hatred they do pay some lip-service to outright anti-semitism in that the notorious site Jew Watch is censored - but it was actually the only such site.

Related:

18 comments:

ronnie b said...

That's strange, I'm not getting any such problem at all with my phone using EE

Confronting antisemitism and Israel hatred said...

Ronnie

It's probably because you are not using the default settings.

Edgar

ronnie b said...

I've never touched the settings, am using Chrome on Android. To be strictly correct am using T-Mobile which is owned and run by EE, but baffled nevertheless.

Confronting antisemitism and Israel hatred said...

For a start the TMobile network is actually different (I switched from TMobile to EE recently - I never got the problem on TMobile) and second the default settings on an iPhone (which is what I am using) are probably different to Android phones.

Unknown said...

I've never had this problem either. You can be pro israel without being anti palestine.

Adam said...

Edgar, have you contacted EE to ask them why? Put them on the spot and see what they say...

Confronting antisemitism and Israel hatred said...

Adam

Yes, I have contacted EE - waiting for a response.

uncle harvey said...

Israelly cool is blocked during the day 09.00 - 21.00
Accessing the Daphne Anson website is ok until you try to comment and then it comes back with a Sky message content blocked so not able to leave a message . I will report this to UKLFI and others

Daphne Anson said...

Thank you, Harvey!

Dan Kelso said...

Edgar Davidson thanks for pointing this out.
You are so correct what you say.
Everyone needs to contact EE and demand they stop this and let these Pro Israel sites on

Daphne Anson said...

A comment on my blog this morning advises:

"Sky Shield" here in the UK is blocking my access to your site at all before 9pm on the stated grounds that it is a porn website!

(So obviously he could get through to comment, which is different from Harvey's experience)

Adam said...

Edgar, just wondering whether you've had a response from EE?

We can't tolerate such political censorship - if indeed that is the case...

Confronting antisemitism and Israel hatred said...

Adam: no response yet. I will follow up.

Adam said...

Thanks Edgar, it would be good to know...

Confronting antisemitism and Israel hatred said...

I have now sent a follow-up letter to Olaf Swantee the CEO of EE saying:

I am a long-term EE customer who has posted the following information described in this blog posting:

http://edgar1981.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/ee-censors-and-blocks-pro-israel-sites.html

Basically numerous websites and blogs that are pro-Israel are content locked on the EE network when using my mobile phone, while no such restrictions are placed on the most vicious anti-Israel websites and blogs (includes ones which promote blatant antisemitism).

It is difficult to conclude anything other than the fact that there is a serious policy of anti-semitism at a high level of management in EE for such a bizarre policy to be in place - one that singles out people supporting the State of Israel.

I would be grateful if you could explain the criteria for blocking pro-Israel sites and whether and when you plan to amend it.

Anonymous said...

I would like to query something. You mentioned : "While my pro-Israel blog is blocked, my 'twin alternative' Free Palestine Now blog - which has exactly the same owner and account - is not blocked" but when I clicked on the link it went to: http://palestinefreenow.blogspot.co.uk/ run by Fiona Warburton

"I am a Politics Graduate of the LSE. After leaving LSE in 2000 I spent a year working with the International Solidarity Movement in Gaza, followed by a year servicing the right honourable George Galloway MP.. . . "

The writer proudly states she is anti-Zionist.

Adam said...

I take it Edgar that EE has not responded? This calls for complaints from as many as possible...

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