Cuba’s state-run telecom monopoly ETECSA restricted access to major social media platforms and messaging apps on Monday as part of temporary internet shutdowns meant to quell anti-government protests across the island, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Tuesday.
“On Monday, Cuban authorities were blocking Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram,” Alp Toker, the director of Netblocks, a London-based internet monitoring firm, told the AP on July 13.
“This does seem to be a response to social media-fueled protest,” he said.
While the microblogging website Twitter “did not appear to be blocked,” as of July 12, Toker “noted Cuba could cut it off if it wants to.”
“On Sunday [July 11], all of Cuba went offline for less than 30 minutes, after which there were several hours of intermittent but large [internet] outages,” Doug Madory, the director of internet analysis for Kentik, a network management company, told the AP on July 13.
Confirmed: Social media and messaging platforms restricted in #Cuba from Monday on state-run internet provider ETECSA; real-time network data corroborate reports of internet disruptions amid widening anti-government protests; incident ongoing 📵#CubaSOS
📰https://t.co/7eGwPS1Mqf pic.twitter.com/kY3G1qMAse
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) July 12, 2021
NetBlocks reviewed Cuban network data and “confirm[ed] partial disruption to social media and messaging platforms in Cuba from 12 July 2021.” – READ MORE
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