7amleh Issues a Position Paper on PayPal Discrimination Against Palestinians in the Digital Economy

May 8, 2024, 7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media issued a position paper regarding the digital discrimination practiced by PayPal, titled “Unravelling PayPal's Bias: Position Paper on Discrimination Against Palestinians'' The paper criticizes PayPal's discriminatory policies against Palestinians and preventing them from using its services, violating United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and fundamental international treaties on human rights. The paper assesses the readiness of the Palestinian digital economy to engage in online payment in terms of infrastructure, skills, financial services, public platforms, and legal frameworks.

The position paper synthesizes strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis for the online payment industry. The information in this report is based on semi-structured interviews conducted with key personnel from the Palestinian Monetary Authority, Ministry of Telecom and Information Technology, Palestinian Capital Market Authority, and Ministry of National Economy; and secondary data provided by the Palestinian Monetary Authority,  Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Telecom and Information Technology, Ministry of Higher Education, and the World Bank.

The report indicates denying Palestinians from using PayPal services is a result of clear political bias and a violation of Palestinian consumer rights, labor rights, and development rights. 7amleh, through the issued position paper, calls on PayPal to take a fair stance, end its discriminatory policies, comply with the Declaration of Human Rights, international agreements, and international digital rights, and provide its services to Palestinians. It is worth noting that 7amleh, in collaboration with several partners, has been diligently working to exert continuous pressure on PayPal since 2017 through the PayPal4Palestine campaign.

To read the full position paper, click here