26 July 2021 | For: Latin Press Agency
For quite some time the Cuban authorities have warned of the bloody impact of the United States' measures against this island on such recurring issues as communications. Precisely, in the document of the Update on the effects of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba, this sphere appears as one of the most affected. This text was approved last June 23 by a large majority in the multilateral forum of the United Nations (UN). The Update essentially covers from April to December 2020, and outlines the effects on all economic sectors of Cuban society. In particular in terms of telecommunications, the modifications to the Export Control Regulations by virtue of the designation of Cuba as a foreign Adversary by the Department of Commerce in 2020, implied such a recrudescence against this island. Such a decision by Washington led to controls on the export of technologies associated with this sector. These obstacles, together with those imposed in the most recent four years, restrict the flow of information and the expansion of Internet access in Cuba. In addition, the Update insists, they make connectivity difficult and more expensive, and condition the entry of Cuban users to various virtual platforms. The impact of the blockade in this area - the document continues - hinders previously established agreements, such as the submarine cable capacity rental project. That arrangement was between the Cuban telecommunications company (Etecsa) and the American company Cable & Wireless Networks. The latter requested the required license from the Federal Communications Commission of the United States in September 2018, and in October 2020 withdrew the request, when it received no response. The cancellation of Cuban media accounts on various digital sites is also another recurring problem. In August 2020, when Cuba was about to announce its first vaccine candidate against Covid-19, the Google company censored the YouTube profiles of the Granma, Mesa Redonda and Cubavisión Internacional media, alleging alleged violations of US export laws. , emphasizes the text. During the pandemic, offers for the execution of distance courses and participation in online events were rejected. These rejections were due to the fact that several videoconferencing sites are blocked for this country, such as Cisco Webex and Zoom.
The foregoing also hinders Cuba's presence in virtual meetings convened by international organizations, including the United Nations system, reflects the recently approved Update.