Social Communication Law in Cuba: Regime Opens Door to Advertising on Radio and Television

The regime has officially unveiled the Social Communication Law in Cuba, more than a year after its approval by the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP). The new regulation was published this Wednesday in the ordinary edition of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba, number 48. The document has sparked a wave of criticism from the international community and independent media.

This new law allows, for the first time since 1959, the use of commercial advertising on national radio and television. However, it also continues to ignore and censor the independent press. The regime aims to reinforce its control over information and media in the country through this legal instrument, which will be accompanied by two regulatory decrees.

Despite its purported intention to modernize the communication framework on the island, the law is perceived as an attempt by the government to maintain its monopoly over the media, enhancing its control from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). Additionally, it introduces regulations on digital phenomena, identifies individuals with communicative influence, and imposes responsibilities on citizens for the content they generate, select, modify, interact with, and publish in cyberspace.

Official Presentation and Reactions

The presentation of the law was attended by the official media. Onelio Castillo, vice president of the Institute of Information and Social Communication (IICS), celebrated the law's publication, considering it a landmark event concluding 40 years of debate.

"This is not a guild law; it's not a law constructed for state organs and entities. It is a law that will be implemented for the entire society, for better communication among the people, and for better communication between public administration and the people, leading to more dialogue and popular participation," said the official.

The Social Communication Law was approved in May 2023 after numerous drafts and a six-month delay due to internal lack of consensus. It will come into effect in 120 days. Castillo noted that no substantive changes have been made in the past year, only stylistic and editorial corrections.

A Tool for Censorship

This legal framework has been designed to silence dissenting voices and control the public narrative in Cuba. One of its key principles is to prohibit the dissemination of information in traditional media and cyberspace that could destabilize the "socialist state."

Only media linked to the government, the Communist Party of Cuba, and mass organizations are legal in the country. This strict control over information contravenes the principles of press and expression freedom, essential in a democratic society.

The Cuban Constitution declares that media are socialist property and cannot be otherwise. This provision, along with the new law, ensures that any independent media attempting to operate in the country will be automatically illegal.

Independent activists and journalists, who have been targeted by programs like "Hacemos Cuba" and "Con Filo," view this law as another tool for the government to silence any form of criticism against the state.

The law also specifies that content cannot be used to subvert the constitutional order or support communicational aggressions against the government. These provisions are vague enough to justify the censorship of any content the regime deems inappropriate.

Allowing commercial advertising and sponsorship in media may appear as an opening, but it is conditioned by state approval, ensuring that revenues do not come from sources the government considers subversive.

The Social Communication Law of Cuba, although presented as a modernization of the regulatory framework, is essentially another tool for the regime to maintain its absolute control over information and more effectively and swiftly repress any dissenting voices.