Palestinians struggle with limited access to global platforms like YouTube, Amazon and PayPal

Palestinians are struggling to get full access to some of the biggest tech platforms in the world like YouTube, Amazon and PayPal. For instance, YouTube is available for Palestinians but it has locked out users from the region from its revenue sharing program. This means Palestinians can create content on the platform, but they can not earn money from it anymore. Upon trying to access the revenue program, users are reportedly seeing the error, "The YouTube Partner Program is not available in your current location Palestine".

The internet has offered some Palestinians a global platform, but those in Gaza and the West Bank reportedly encounter obstacles accessing various online benefits enjoyed by billions worldwide. Platforms such as YouTube, PayPal, and Amazon reportedly limit entry for Palestinian merchants. While Google's revenue-generating tools are theoretically open to Palestinians, challenges in identity verification and payment collection reportedly impede their access. This information was initially reported by The Wired.

A Google spokesperson told the publication that the availability of the YouTube Partner Program in the Palestinian territories is contingent on Google introducing a localised version of YouTube. This process entails adapting features and options to align with the language and culture of the region.

This delay results in unequal access to online sources of income for Palestinians. Despite contributing as much, if not more, content than creators worldwide, Palestinians do not receive their equitable share of income from it.

PayPal, on the other hand, functions in over 200 nations, including many such as Somalia, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Venezuela, Israel, Russia, Jordan, and Egypt, with unstable political conditions, conflicts, and human rights issues. However, PayPal shows reluctance to offer its services to Palestinians with bank accounts in the West Bank and Gaza. The reason behind this reluctance remains unknown. Facilitating such services could serve as a direct avenue for PayPal to support economic development and equality in Palestine, as per a recent research by 7amleh.

A different report by 7amleh also found restrictions to e-commerce platforms like Amazon for Palestenians. As per the report, In the West Bank and Gaza, the ability of Palestinians to access economic markets is severely constrained by Israeli occupation, both in physical and online realms. "Tech companies that provide essential financial services for utilising e-commerce also have an important role in denying Palestinians their human rights", the report reads.

Simultaneously, there have also been multiple internet outages in the Gaza region over the past few months. The outages have been for several reasons like Gaza's power plant running out of fuel, Israel cutting off electricity and water in the region, and direct attacks on civilian telecommunications infrastructure. According to data by IODA and Netblocks, since October 11, 2023, Gaza has experienced connectivity levels that are less than 30 per cent of what they were before the conflict. Additionally, in October 2023, there was an over 80 per cent reduction in internet traffic across Gaza.