The Cuban government has introduced new regulations on social media and internet use, which critics argue are designed to suppress dissent. The decrees were published following the largest anti-government protests in decades, where demonstrators used social media to share footage and mobilise supporters.
The new rules make inciting acts that 'alter public order' a crime and order internet providers to cut access to those who 'spread fake news or hurt the image of the state'. They were published in the official Gaceta Oficial newspaper just over a month after thousands of Cubans took to the streets in a rare show of anger against the Communist government.
The protests, which began in the small town of San Antonio de los Baños, appeared to have no formal organiser but were convened through an online community forum. They spread rapidly after a live Facebook broadcast of the march was widely shared. Access to mobile internet was only introduced in Cuba in December 2018, giving Cubans access to news beyond state-controlled media.
Following the protests, users found they could not access Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram or Telegram. Netblocks, a London-based internet monitoring firm, said the outages seemed to be 'a response to social media-fuelled protest' by the Cuban government. Cuban officials stated the decrees aim to keep citizens safe from cybercrime, with Deputy Communications Minister Wilfredo González telling AFP they protect personal data and privacy, but also state officials, as 'no one can denigrate an official of our country or our revolutionary process'.
Human Rights Watch's Americas Director José Miguel Vivanco wrote on Twitter that the decrees tighten the government's grip on the internet, adding that 'impacting the country's prestige' would now be considered a 'cybersecurity incident'. The penalties for these new 'crimes' have not yet been announced.
