MIAMI, United States. – Cuba was the country in the Americas with the least internet freedom and fourth in the world list of 70 nations, according to the ranking “Freedom on the Net 2022”prepared by the non-governmental organization Freedom House.
Out of a total of 100 points, Cuba only reached 20which determines its position in the “Not free” category, behind China, Myanmar and Iran.
In its Freedom House report, it recalled that “in July 2021, when Cubans mobilized in the country’s largest anti-government demonstrations since the 1959 Revolution, the authorities briefly restricted internet access and blocked WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal.”
“These steps prevented protesters from effectively using digital tools to coordinate protests, and separated the movement from independent media outlets and Cubans based abroad, who had garnered support for the demonstrations on social media platforms. international,” he said.
In April of this year it also emerged that Cuba had been “the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean that cut off internet access in 2021,” according to the report The return of digital authoritarianismpublished by Access Now, an organization that watches over digital rights at risk around the world.
According to that report, the island’s regime responded to the protests and demands for reform by cutting off the internet and blocking social networks and virtual private networks (VPNs).
“In July 2021, while the Cubans filled the streets to demand access to food, water, medicine and vaccines against COVID-19, the Government imposed a cloak over the internet, ”says the report. “Even after restoring internet access, the authorities blocked WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal,” adds Access Now.
Likewise, the organization recalled that “while the island’s citizens used VPNs to access blocked services, the state ETECSA blocked the words ‘VPN’ and ‘freedom’, which could not be sent via SMS. VPN services have been working intermittently on the Island since October 2020.”
On the other hand, it condemns the fact that both the authorities of Cuba and those of Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Chad, Eswatini, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Senegal, Sudan, Turkmenistan and Uganda have interrupted or cut completely internet access during protests in 2021.
For its part, the Freedom House report laments that global internet freedom has declined in 2022 for the 12th consecutive year, “as more governments erected digital barriers designed to censor dissent and monitor users.”
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