In response to protests, NetBlocks says Cuba's state-run ISP has restricted social media and messaging apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp
Network data from NetBlocks confirm partial disruption to social media and messaging platforms in Cuba from 12 July 2021.
NetBlocks
Context & Ripple Effects
The reported disruptions mark an early escalation in Cuba’s internet-control regime: the country’s connectivity had long been shaped by the interaction of access, censorship, and foreign-company efforts, as Cuba’s first wave of broader internet access was examined years earlier.
The immediate restrictions were followed within days by reported demand for Psiphon’s censorship-circumvention tool, while later coverage described tighter state control making U.S. connectivity initiatives unlikely to succeed. Together, those developments make the network layer—not the individual apps—the decisive point of control.
First-order effects
Cuban users lose reliable access to Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp through the state-run ISP just as those services serve as channels for communication and information sharing during the protests.
NetBlocks’ measurements provide an external record of the partial disruptions, while Meta’s affected services are dependent on access decisions made outside their platforms.
Second-order effects
Psiphon gains immediate relevance as users seek routes around the restrictions; it later said its tool helped about 1.4 million Cubans circumvent censorship that week.
Efforts to improve Cuban connectivity from outside the country face a more difficult operating environment as the government tightens control over the access layer.
Third-order effects
A state-run ISP’s ability to selectively disrupt major apps concentrates practical power over digital speech at the network layer, regardless of the platforms’ global reach.
If restrictions and circumvention continue to move in tandem, Cuba’s internet-access market will be shaped increasingly by a contest between state controls and anti-censorship tools rather than by platform competition alone.
The trend: Government control of network infrastructure is becoming a direct lever for limiting access to global communications platforms, prompting demand for circumvention services.
Cuba's online spaces are tightly monitored by the government. And now there are internet blackouts during historic protests. @BWazir1 spoke with @mariannedh of @accessnow and @DougMadory of @kentikinc to learn more about what's going on. https://www.codastory.com/...
Following major street protests, Cuban authorities have blocked social media sites in an apparent effort to stop the flow of information. Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram were blocked, an international monitor said. https://apne.ws/hSTCTrC
The Cuban government is selectively blocking Instagram, Facebook, and Telegram as part of the ongoing protests (Twitter traffic still mostly up). That ‘weary giant of flesh and steel’ of the Cuban government fighting cyberspace seriously for the first time. https://twitter.com/..…
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://netblocks.org/...…
American telecomm providers and other American companies providing services in #Cuba must stress to @ETECSA_Cuba @Cubacel_ETECSA: stop weaponizing telecom; shutting down the Internet & Wi-Fi systems is wrong. Where is the corporate outrage? @Twitter @Facebook #Censorship https://…
Let's acknowledge the legitimate propaganda campaigns that social media companies carry out to distort political conversations by controlling the “trending” section on everyone's timeline. #SOSCuba #Cuba #CubaLibre https://twitter.com/...
The deplorable tyrannical regime in Cuba that Democrats have repeatedly praised have shut down access to the internet and social media in order to stop the flow of information. Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram have all been blocked. This is the reality of leftism.
Just a reminder that $100,000 in fake Russian Facebook ads were portrayed as a devious, democracy-destroying intervention in US elections. The US is likely spending more than $20M on regime-change efforts in Cuba, but even that $20M is 200 times more than those Russian ads. https…
I warned about this earlier today. It is happening and will continue. By the way, they use a system made, sold & installed by #China to control and block access to the internet in #Cuba. #SOSCuba #PatriaYVida https://twitter.com/...