More than a year passed between the approval of the Social Communication Law and its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic.
In October 2023, Rogelio Polanco—head of the Ideological Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party—said that the publication of the law had been delayed due to the need to draft complementary regulations (such as the procedure for journalists to request public information from leaders and state agencies).
The wait is over. On June 5, 2024, the Official Gazette published the Social Communication Law approved in May 2023 along with two additional regulations, the law itself and another related to advertising and sponsorship. However, the final provisions of the three regulations establish that the entry into force will occur 120 days after publication in the Gazette.
From elTOQUE Jurídico, attention has been devoted to the draft of the current Social Communication Law. After publication, it is good to systematize some of the most important elements provided in the new package of standards.
1. ANY PRESS SYSTEM OUTSIDE THE SOCIALIST STATE IS NOT RECOGNIZED
The Social Communication Law recognizes in article 5 that the Cuban Social Communication System must act “in accordance with the socialist State of law and social justice, democratic, independent and sovereign, expression of the thought and example of Martí and Fidel and the ideas of social emancipation of Marx, Engels and Lenin.
The law emphasizes that the vocation of the Social Communication System cannot be other than the defense of the socialist development model chosen and controlled by the Communist Party. For this reason, among the objectives of the system, the promotion of “emancipatory thinking that supports the continuity of the socialist national project” stands out; the empowerment of “popular participation in socialist development”; and the promotion of “ethical and safe use of the Internet as a tool to consolidate socialist society.”
Likewise, the regulations ratify an idea managed from the project and that eliminates any possibility of legal recognition for media or communicators who oppose political power. To achieve the above, limit the type of content that can be shared or disclosed in the media. Recognizes that it is prohibited to disseminate content aimed at “subverting the constitutional order and destabilizing the socialist State of law and social justice”; “sustain the communication aggression that is developing against the country”; and “instigating terrorism and war in any of their forms and manifestations, including cyberwar.” It also prohibits the dissemination of content aimed at “defaming, slandering or insulting the people, bodies, agencies and entities of the State, political, mass and social organizations of the country.”
The law completely closes the door for non-state actors to establish companies or cooperatives whose sole objective is to be media outlets (article 28.4). It maintains the express obligation that “government journalists” cannot collaborate with “social media whose content contravenes the Constitution.”
It also dedicates an entire chapter to political communication and recognizes that this type of messages can only be “an expression of the revolutionary thought of the people and their transformative action as a social subject to strengthen the Cuban political system and advance in the construction of a socialist society.”
2. LIMITS WHO CAN BE ADVERTISING AGENTS
The Social Communication Law authorized the use of advertising and sponsorship as forms of financing the media. In conjunction with the law, the regulations for the exercise of advertising and sponsorship were published.
Both regulations establish that advertising can only be inserted in the media with the participation – among others – of an “advertising agency.” The regulations provide that the advertising agency is responsible in a “professional and organized manner” for “providing advertising services to an advertiser.” It also establishes that only state entities or public institutions can provide this type of services.
To control that only state actors benefit from advertising services, the Regulations of the Social Communication Law establish that to legally recognize an advertising agency, first, “the consent of the president of the Institute of Information and Social Communication” is required.
3. ESTABLISH A SPECIAL SYSTEM FOR JOURNALISTS TO ACCESS PUBLIC INFORMATION
A few days before the publication of the Social Communication Law in the Official Gazette, the website of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP) disclosed the draft law on transparency and access to public information. The project, which will probably be approved in the next ordinary session of Parliament in July 2024, regulates how citizens can request public information from the central administration bodies of the State and clarifies that the procedure is not applicable to journalists.
The Regulations of the Social Communication Law establish the procedure in which pro-government journalists may request information from the directors, officials and employees of the State bodies, agencies and entities. You acknowledge that the request must be made in writing (printed or digital) and must also be responded to in writing within three business days after receipt.
The answer may be negative. In that sense, it does not determine what causes the bureaucracy can use to refuse to respond. It only recognizes that the denial must be justified with a “substantiated writing.” The regulations establish that if the journalist does not agree with the refusal, he can “complain to the immediate superior authority of the manager, official or employee of the organs, agencies and entities of the State” to whom the request was made. If the senior manager maintains the denial, the journalist could then file a lawsuit.
4. STRICT CONTROL OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING
Messages in outdoor spaces have always been controlled by the Cuban regime. The Regulation of the Social Communication Law reinforces control by establishing that to place advertisements on public roads it is necessary to request written authorization from the “Institute of Information and Social Communication” or its provincial and municipal structures.
The rule imposes prior censorship by requiring applicants to submit a content proposal, including design and location details. The regulation also penalizes the display of unapproved content on any medium on public roads.
Penalties range from warnings and obligations and fines to the suspension or cancellation of licenses that allow communication or advertising activities.
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