Cuba Blocks Social Media Amid Spread of Anti-Government Protests

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] According to the Associated Press on the 12th (local time), the Cuban government appears to have blocked access to social media (SNS) amid the spreading anti-government protests.

According to the report, Alpf Talker, director of NetBlocks, an internet monitoring company headquartered in London, UK, stated that SNS platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram are inaccessible in Cuba on that day, adding, "It seems to be a response to the protests ignited through SNS."

He added, "However, Twitter does not appear to be blocked yet, but if the Cuban authorities want, they could block it as well."

In fact, the Cuban government has expressed the view that SNS incited the unusually large-scale anti-government protests that took place nationwide, including in the capital Havana, on the 11th.

Cuban President Miguel D?az-Canel claimed in a speech on state television on the 12th, "Conservative Cuban-American 'mafia' groups in Miami, USA, incited the protests through social media."

In the communist country of Cuba, it is relatively recent that citizens have been able to access the internet.

Ted Henken, a Latin America expert at Baruch College in New York, told the AP that mobile internet access in Cuba first became available at the end of 2018 after the Cuban state-owned telecommunications company launched data services, and now more than half of the Cuban population uses the internet.

However, as regular events and protest organization through the internet became possible, the Cuban government has periodically blocked access to social media in response, Henken explained.

The recent large-scale anti-government protests occurred amid a severe economic crisis caused by the US economic blockade compounded by the hardships of COVID-19.

On the 11th, when the protests took place, videos of citizens marching in the streets shouting slogans such as "Down with dictatorship," "Freedom," and "Homeland and Life" were posted on social media with the hashtag 'SOSCuba.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.