What Is a Blacklist?
The term blacklist refers to a list of people, organizations, or countries that are shunned or excluded by others because they are alleged to have engaged in unacceptable or unethical behavior or activities. A blacklist is considered retaliatory as it is intended to create financial hardship for those named on the list. These lists can be created by different entities, including governments and individuals. Anyone who appears on a blacklist may be barred from getting funding, doing business, or getting jobs.
Key Takeaways
- A blacklist targets people or entities that are seen as disruptive or undesirable.
- Blacklists aim to isolate those listed and prevent them from doing business effectively.
- Historical blacklists have targeted union organizers and alleged communist sympathizers.
- Modern blacklists are more likely to be databases managed by governments imposing economic sanctions on global bad actors involved in money laundering or drug trafficking.
- Individuals who fear being unfairly blacklisted by employers or creditors may be advised to run a background check on themselves through an online service.
Understanding Blacklists
Blacklisting has a long history and its roots have been traced to as early as the 1610s. People named on a blacklist were deemed to be suspicious in some way and were to be avoided. By the late 19th century the names of workers known to be involved in union organizing were circulated to potential employers on a blacklist. The purpose was not only to punish unionists but to silence them.
In modern times, a blacklist is often used as a tool used by governments to make economic sanctions effective by publicly listing people, organizations, and nations that should be avoided.
A blacklist may also be compiled by any type of organization from a political or religious group to a business or professional association. It might be made public to increase the pressure on those listed or be circulated confidentially to those who might act upon the information, cutting ties to the blacklisted people or businesses.
Special Considerations
A common misconception revolves around the purported existence of a credit blacklist to deny loans to consumers with poor or spotty credit histories. But there is no such list. Every person who ever obtained credit has a credit score on file with up to three major credit reporting agencies. That score falls within a range from very poor to exceptional at repaying debt in the past.
The score determines whether a consumer's application for new credit is approved and what interest rate is applied to the loan. At worst, a person with a very poor credit rating must undergo some credit repair work in order to obtain new credit at a reasonable rate.
Types of Blacklists
Government Blacklists
The U.S. government maintains several lists that could reasonably be called blacklists. They publicly identify individuals or entities that are restricted or banned from conducting business in the U.S. or with U.S. entities. For instance:
- The U.S. Treasury maintains a blacklist of individuals, companies, and other groups who are blocked or prohibited from doing business with U.S. residents and businesses. The people and entities on the list may be associated with a nation or an industry that is sanctioned by the U.S. or may be engaged in terrorist activities or narcotics trafficking. This list is called the Specially Designated Nationals List and is available online.
- The U.S. Department of State maintains a blacklist called State Sponsors of Terrorism. The list identifies nations that are prohibited from importing arms or receiving certain types of foreign aid from the U.S. In 2024, the list included Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Syria.
- The U.S. Department of Commerce maintains The Entity List of individuals, companies, and other organizations that are required to undergo special licensing before exporting from the U.S. These entities are identified as being potentially involved in activities that threaten the national security or foreign policy interests of the U.S.
In the days before electronic databases, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers consulted a printed Black List of Persons Engaged in Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs. This handbook contained photographs and fingerprints of known criminals to keep an eye out for at the borders.
IP Address Blacklists
The IP address blacklist is a network security tool used to block access to or from internet addresses that are deemed problematic. An IP address can wind up on a blacklist because it has hosted unacceptable content, such as p*rnography, or because it engages in cyber attacks, contains code that might be harmful, or a virus that might spread.
Addresses are also blacklisted to block email deliveries from addresses and domains known to be sources of spam, fraud, or cybercrime. IP address blacklisting is also known as IP blocklisting.
Blacklist vs. Gray List
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publishes both a blacklist and a gray list of countries that don't act effectively to curtail money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Nations on the blacklist are likely to find it difficult to do business with the outside world on any terms. They are likely to face economic sanctions from the 37 active member nations of the OECD and their businesses are unlikely to be well received by financial institutions in the member nations. Iran, North Korea, and Myanmar are the only three nations named on the blacklist as of 2024.
The term grey list generally indicates a less serious situation for those named on it than a blacklist. The FATF grey list is much longer than the blacklist. It is formally called the Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring List. The nations on the list are deemed deficient in preventing money laundering or the terrorism financing, but have committed to improvement under timetables agreed upon with the FATF. In 2024, the grey list contained the names of 21 countries from all regions of the world, including two members of the European Union.
Examples of Blacklists
Whether formal or informal, the blacklist has been used as a weapon against people for a variety of reasons, political and practical. The following are some of the most famous examples of blacklists used across the globe.
Union Supporters Blacklist
It is illegal for a company to blacklist, or refuse to hire, an applicant based on the knowledge or suspicion that they have an affiliation or sympathize with unionization. That law did not exist in the early days of unionization when participants in the labor movement faced retaliation by companies, including blacklisting.
As union membership declined in the past several decades, so did complaints of job candidates blacklisted for their ties to unions. In fact, a study by Work In Progress found that union-affiliated applicants and individuals with no union affiliation were equally likely to get called back for an interview for an entry-level front-line job in Chicago.
It is a violation of federal unfair labor practices law for a union to maintain a blacklist of workers who refuse to join a union.
Communist Blacklist
In the 1930s, membership in the Communist Party was quite fashionable in some circles. By the late 1940s and well into the 1950s, it was considered grossly un-American.
With the Cold War in full swing, a Congressional committee called the House Un-American Activities Committee began investigating the political beliefs of a number of prominent Americans, including those in the entertainment industry. Accusations of subversion and even treason swirled. People who refused to cooperate by naming names were prosecuted and even jailed.
The crusade was taken up in the Senate as well, most notoriously by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the committee he chaired. The focus of the committee was on the alleged infiltration of the U.S. government and military by communists and spies for the Soviet Union. The public hearings, known as the Army-McCarthy hearings, riveted the public.
McCarthy was eventually censured by the Senate for making unfounded public accusations against hundreds of people. By that time, official or unofficial blacklisting had damaged the careers of many of McCarthy's victims.
Dalton Trumbo and Ring Lardner, Jr. were among the writers who were blacklisted after refusing to answer questions from the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Hollywood Blacklist
The House Un-American Activities Committee was particularly focused on rooting out supposed communist sympathizers in the entertainment industry, which then as now was seen as a hotbed of the American political left.
Many of the biggest names in Hollywood were dragged to Washington, where they were grilled on their own political beliefs and those of their friends and associates. Among those who refused to cooperate were those known as the Hollywood 10. These screenwriters and directors went to jail for refusing to answer the committee's questions.
The Hollywood 10 were officially blacklisted. They were banned from employment at the Hollywood studios. The blacklist was not officially lifted until the 1960s, years after the hysteria had died down. Some of the Hollywood 10 continued to work, using pseudonyms.
Huawei
Although most countries have blacklists of organizations and suppliers who are not to be trusted, the threat of blacklisting is usually effective. This is particularly true during international trade squabbles. For example, between December 2017 and November 2021 the U.S. government took a number of actions against China-based Huawei to blacklist the company in various contexts. Government agencies are barred from buying and using Huawei equipment. Huawei is blacklisted from new equipment licenses in the United States, and the government will reimburse U.S. firms for replacing Huawei equipment they already have. Additionally, efforts were made to blacklist Huawei from international semiconductor chip sales.
China responded by threatening to blacklist all the companies of foreign countries that enacted a Huawei ban. Despite the threats, these types of disputes are often resolved without having entire nations put on blacklists.
Why Is It Called a Blacklist?
People viewed as troublesome or non-conforming have been placed on blacklists, official or unofficial, for centuries. Their names are blackened. They should be avoided and treated as if they did not exist. In practice, blacklisting is an economic punishment meant to exclude the people named from enjoying the benefit of doing business in the community.
What Happens When a Person Is Blacklisted?
Blacklisting is intended to deprive a person of the ability to make a living. Professional ties are cut. The person's reputation and status in the community are damaged. Blacklists may be discredited. The Hollywood 10, blacklisted for refusing to name names to the House Un-American Activities Committee, were eventually lionized for their stance.
How Can I Check If I Have Been Blacklisted?
Reports of blacklists, official or unofficial, circulate in most professions. Most are probably untrue. Writing for a resume site, a recruiter maintained that there is no blacklist in her field and no need for one. You're more likely to be sunk by a bad interview or an unfavorable reference than by a blacklist.
Some people fear a less official form of blacklisting if they have left a previous job under a cloud or made enemies along the way. One way to find out if they're right is for them to run a background check on themselves to see if anything negative pops up. Many web-based services are available to do the job.
The Bottom Line
Blacklists are put together by individuals, corporations, and other entities. They group together entities that have or are alleged to engage in unethical behavior or other practices that may be deemed unacceptable. Being put on a blacklist can have serious ramifications. But it can also mean that there needs to be a change in behavior. While it can seem hard to get off a blacklist, it isn't entirely impossible. A country that doesn't foster human rights may be put on a blacklist and be slapped with economic sanctions. If it wants to get off that list, it may succeed by enacting legislation that the global community may come to accept.
