blacklistning

Blacklisting is the practice of creating and maintaining a list of individuals, organizations, or content that are denied access to goods, services, or platforms based on policy violations, risk assessments, or perceived threat. Blacklists are used across different sectors to enforce compliance, manage risk, or protect users and assets. The term covers manual lists compiled by human reviewers as well as automated lists generated by scoring systems or algorithms.

Common domains include finance and trade, where entities on a blacklist may be restricted due to sanctions, money laundering concerns, or regulatory risk; online platforms that block accounts or content deemed abusive or illegal; employment and professional contexts that bar individuals from certain roles; and information security, where IPs or devices are blocked to prevent breaches. The lists can be permanent or time-limited and may vary by jurisdiction, organization, or service.

Criticism centers on due process, transparency, and potential bias. Blacklists can produce false positives, disproportionately affect marginalized groups, and lack clear avenues for appeal or correction. Privacy, data accuracy, and governance standards are ongoing concerns, prompting discussions about accountability and the right to contest entries. In contemporary usage, some organizations prefer terms such as denylist or blocklist to emphasize access control without historical associations tied to terminology of race or ethnicity.

See also: blacklist, whitelist, denylist, blocklist, sanctions list.