Three blocks ‘thousands’ of people visiting cost of living campaign website by flagging it as ‘adult content’

Three blocked a popular website helping people with the cost of living crisis because it is ‘adult content’.

Enough Is Enough (EIE), a campaign that is combating the rise in energy bills, food poverty, and the lack of wage growth in the UK, was not able to be accessed.

Instead, visitors to the campaign website were shown a warning that they are unable to get onto the page because it is adult. “We’ve restricted access to this page as we believe it contains content that isn’t suitable for under 18s”, Three’s account security message reads.

Three later said that the site had been blacklisted “in error” and that it had been unblocked. But it gave little information on how it had come to be restricted in the first place.

The EIE website includes campaign petitions, demands to cut energy bills and increase taxes on the wealthy, and organises national and local events.

The group tweeted that they have received “hundreds of messages about this. Why are you flagging our website as adult content?”, tagging the official Three UK account.

Labour MP Zarah Sultana, who is a Three customer, tweeted that she was “keen to know why our cost-of-living campaign is inaccessible and why Three’s filter has it flagged as adult content. It’s frankly unacceptable.”

The news comes as Boris Johnson has rejected pleas to intervene on the cost of living crisis, refusing calls for an emergency budget, regular Cobra meetings and the recall of parliament - insisting it was up to “a future prime minister to decide whether or what measures are required”.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), around nine in 10 (87 per cent) of adults in Britain have reported their cost of living increased in March alone, with rising energy prices fuelling the surge.

The wholesale price of gas in January 2022 was almost four times higher than in early 2021, with limited stocks of natural gas and supply problems driving the prices of gas up globally.

“The number of consumers who have contacted us over concerns that Three UK is blacklisting their political views is now in the thousands”, an Enough is Enough spokesperson said.

“It makes sense for them to review their policy of censoring pro-worker voices as soon as possible or risk alienating loyal customers.”

Enough is Enough did not answer The Independent’s questions about when the organisation first noticed this was an issue, nor whether Three had given any response or if any other provider had been blocking the website.

Three told The Independent that it was investigating the issue but offered no further details on the matter nor when the company was first alerted to the problem. It later said that the site had been blocked “in error”.

“As with all [mobile networks], Three is required to follow regulations that block websites that are classed as containing adult content,” a spokesperson said.

“The responsibility for the guidelines and reviewing of websites is managed by the British Board of Film Classification and Three implement their decisions. This website was initially classed as containing adult content in error.

“After receiving complaints, we unblocked the website quickly so users could access it again. We apologise for the inconvenience to anyone affected and if anyone is still having issues accessing the website, they can get in contact with us.”